The Government have issued a statement rejecting a recent video produced by Verdemar

A statement from the Governemnt follows below:

The Government completely rejects the lies which make up every second of the vexatious and perniciously misleading video produced by Verdemar. 

The object of the video cannot be genuine environmentalism, as its lies are blatantly aimed at denigrating and demeaning Gibraltar, the Gibraltarians, its Government and our environmental record for a transparent political purpose. 

The Verdemar video flies in the face of what the international scientific and environmentalist community recognises is Gibraltar’s excellent stewardship of the environment. 

The Verdemar video is a part of a constant campaign of blatant hate, designed to influence viewers emotionally against Gibraltar and its people through a mixture of false images, generic footage, and unproven visual associations. 

Shots of wipes on beaches, slicks in the sea, affected wildlife, or open-water vessels, were not filmed in Gibraltar or its waters and many appear to be enhanced by AI. 

Showing those images alongside the Rock encourages the viewer to assume a link that is not there. Verdemar use fake images to try to tarnish Gibraltar’s reputation. 

The video is a false narrative collage in every regard and it is not an evidential chronology of anything. 

For example, images of wildlife or pollution may create emotional impact on viewers, but they do not prove causation. 

Throughout the video Verdemar use extensive false visual insinuation to tarnish Gibraltar, its people and its Government for its transparent political purposes. 

As an example, they use images of wipes on a beach, as if to blame Gibraltar, when it has been scientifically determined that the wipes that appeared on the east side last year actually came from a sewer north of the border. 

Ironically the video comes just days after the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Conservation congratulated Gibraltar's Minister for the Environment, Professor John Cortes in person, in London, on His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar's environmental record and specifically our 25 Year Environment Plan, which has also been acclaimed in Spanish environmental circles.

The video conveniently fails to mention the huge progress Gibraltar has made on matters related to the environment. 

This includes the extent of its protected areas on land and in the sea which surpass by considerable extent the 2030 international targets of 30%. 

Verdemar also fail to recognise our environmental legislation, including the Climate Change Act and the Environmental Governance Act, and that some of our legislative provisions are in fact stronger even than those in Spain and the EU. 

Our improvements in air and sea quality are ignored, as are our strong wildlife protection and rewilding programmes as well as our intense research and conservation programmes. 

These include the activities of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the University, and the NGOs, GONHS, ESG and the Nautilus Project. 

Minister for Environment Professor John Cortes said, “I will not allow the false environmentalists in Verdemar, with their far right political motivation, to defame Gibraltar and to trash the hard work of NGOs and officials, and my own personal lifetime’s work, for political ends. I will call them out for the liars they are. I will challenge them for trying to stoke up hate of Gibraltar and its people with their lies. They are hypocrites. Antonio Muñoz himself, who once claimed to be my friend, has been welcomed to my office in the past and has said to my face that he wished Spanish politicians did as much for the environment as I have done, and on more than one occasion he has asked me for support in his campaigns. 

What motives can Verdemar have other than political, when they should be welcoming closer cooperation in the region on environment following the Treaty. 

Instead they publish a bunch of lies trying to denigrate our good name. 

I challenge him and anyone else in his organisation to say these things to my face. I will be very happy to give Verdemar a lesson in the truth, environmental activism and governance and in political honesty too. 

The fact is that many want to see cooperation fail, and I am sorry to see that includes some alleged environmentalists who are clearly out and out anti-Gibraltar”.