There will be a considerable Gibraltar representation at COP25, the Climate Change summit currently taking place in Madrid

Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability, Prof John Cortes will form part of the official UK delegation and will be acting as political leader of the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs). In this capacity he will be drawing attention to the serious issues facing the territories in relation to climate change, in particular adaptation and mitigation, to raise awareness and look for opportunities to facilitate climate financing for the territories.

He will be taking the opportunity to meet with various international and UK experts and bodies to discuss the Climate Emergency, Gibraltar’s Climate Change Strategy and the Green Gibraltar initiative. He will be accompanied by Stephen Warr who will be the UKOT Technical Lead.

Minister for Housing and Technical Services Steven Linares will be attending at the invitation of Liberal International as part of their Climate Justice Committee of which he is a member. Liberal International is determined to make Climate Change and issues concerning the environment an important part of its philosophy. The LI (CJC) will be meeting in Madrid to further discuss liberal principles in relation to Climate Justice.

A team from the Department of the Environment and Climate Change consisting of Stephen Warr and Janine Galliano, assisted by Vikram Nagrani and Tania Rahmany, Environmental lawyers at Hassans, will also be at the Conference and the Sustainable Innovation Forum, pursuing Gibraltar’s continued endeavours to contribute to global efforts that combat climate change, by establishing a world-leading venue that allows for the international trading of ‘Green Units’, to include a wide range of units including emission allowances, mitigation outcomes, carbon credits, units under the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, and environmental units registered internationally.

Professor Daniella Tilbury, Commissioner for Sustainable Development, will be in Madrid as a member of the University of Cambridge’s expert delegation that seeks to inform negotiations at the Summit. Prof Tilbury, an accredited UN Summit participant, will be leading a high profile event at COP25 on behalf of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The event, ‘Facing the Future: Climate Action and International Collaboration’. The roundtable, led by Prof Tilbury, will be asking expert speakers to identify roadmaps for effective international cooperation and share examples of best practice. Prof Tilbury will also be contributing to events organised by Cambridge University including a delegates dinner which will host Greta Thunberg on the 10th December.