John Culatto
A SMART traffic light system to stop cars polluting the air while in a queue and greywater recycling systems for new developments could soon help Gibraltar reach carbon neutrality.
A Net Zero meeting hosted by Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia floated these latest ideas to help the Rock lower carbon emissions.
Ministers for the Environment and Transport, John Cortes and Paul Balban respectively, attended the meetings along with government departments, agencies and authorities.
Environmental agency Ricardo gave a virtual presentation of a Net Zero modelling tool.
The tool will allow the government to measure data as part of the climate change strategy from the baseline of 2019 to the present moment.
It will help authorities to see how policymaking will influence future projections for global warming across the Rock.
“The modelling tools that are being developed will allow policies and initiatives to be measured and evaluated for their climate change impact,” Cortes said.
“If it goes unchecked, climate change will affect every aspect of our lives in Gibraltar and on this planet.”
The meeting brought together the findings of different sub-groups that are working to change policy across all department.
The sustainable transport working group, for example, is pushing for ways to improve the experience of the pedestrian and cyclist to discourage car use.
“The strategy aims to introduce a core cycling network including parking and storage infrastructure,” the government said.
It will include beautification of areas like Bayside Road and more cycle lanes.
The working group also considered introducing a smart traffic light system to stop the build-up of waiting cars that cause much more pollution.
Electric vehicle charging points could also be on the cards, a proposal which was given the go-ahead at the last session.
The Adaptation and Resilience Working Group focuses not only on buildings and infrastructure but also tourism and health.
It proposed changing the Gibraltar Development Plan to include greywater recycling for use in cleaning.
Greywater is the waste produced by washing machines, sinks and showers. Toilets produce blackwater.
The group also tasked Technical Services to examine the cause of recent flooding during last week’s storm.
Garcia said the government was taking ‘a long term approach’ to reversing climate change locally.
‘The work of the Net Zero Delivery Body is continuous and ongoing, through the diverse workstreams of its smaller working groups,” he added.
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