More pavements planned as 25-year strategy signals ‘less road space’ for cars 

Plans to extend pavements into areas where they currently do not exist are set out in a 25-year plan published by the Department of the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change and Heritage, alongside an explicit warning that reallocating road space to pedestrians and cyclists will leave less room for vehicles. 

In a section on Transport, the department says the Gibraltar Government aims to provide pavements where there are currently none and to make walking and cycling routes through Gibraltar “safer and more attractive”. 

But the report also acknowledges a direct trade-off for drivers as Gibraltar expands walking and cycling infrastructure. 

“There is a recognition that road space in Gibraltar is limited and therefore increases in road allocation to pedestrians and cyclists will result in less road space being available for cars,” the report says. 

“However, the benefits to both health and the environment are undeniable.” 

The report describes road traffic as “a significant problem in Gibraltar” and says an active travel strategy will encourage people out of vehicles and into more sustainable travel modes, while noting that “car use will still continue to be high in the short term”. 

Alongside efforts to shift day-to-day travel patterns, the report says the move to “low or no emission vehicles has already begun” and will be supported by an extensive charging network, previously set out in the 2024 EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy, along with “better incentives for those purchasing full electric vehicles” and “the introduction of low emission zones in the city centre”. 

The report also sets out measures targeting some of the highest-emitting vehicles on Gibraltar’s roads, describing Heavy Goods Vehicles used in construction, transporting goods and removing waste as “some of the most heavily polluting vehicles”. 

Alongside the requirement for all newly registered HGVs to meet Euro 6 emission standards, the report also proposes a tax on existing HGVs using Gibraltar’s roads “to discourage their use and implement the Polluter Pays Principle”. 

On shipping, the report says emissions “are also a cause for concern” and notes that recent changes to the Public Health Act introduced a penalty for ships emitting black smoke, although it cautioned that these can be “difficult to enforce in practice”. 

The report says the legislation “will be further revised to give the Environmental Agency and the Port Authority greater powers in this respect”. 

It also points to work to provide shoreside power at the North Mole, adding: “This will allow visiting ships and even cruise liners to switch off their onboard generators whilst they are berthed in Gibraltar.” 

“Our aim is to ensure that all large berthed vessels should use such power.” 

The Transport section concludes that moving towards a low carbon system will “make Gibraltar a truly accessible city for all transport users”. 

SHIPPING AND CONSTRUCTION 

The report also highlights the scale of shipping emissions in Gibraltar and the extent to which they fall outside local control. 

“International shipping is a key part of the global economy and almost 90% of worldwide trade is transacted via ocean going vessels,” the document says. 

“For Gibraltar emissions from international shipping and bunkering, which are scope 3 emissions and therefore fall outside of the manageable inventory, account for over 80% of total emissions.” 

The report adds that decarbonisation at a global scale is therefore “of critical interest to Gibraltar’s long term carbon reduction ambitions”, and points to the role of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as the UN agency responsible for shipping safety and pollution prevention. 

The report noted the IMO’s updated plan aims to cut shipping emissions sharply by 2030 and 2040 and reach net zero by around 2050. 

It says all shipping operators will be required to comply, and that the Gibraltar Port Authority “will need to be ready to respond to the changing needs and demands of the industry”. 

In a section on construction, the report says the industry must reduce pollution and waste through cleaner materials, better design, more efficient production methods and recycling or reusing building materials.  

It says the Government will set targets to reduce construction waste, develop a Net Zero Standard for buildings considering embodied and operational energy, and review Dust Control Regulations to tighten requirements, particularly in densely populated areas, with greater enforcement and fining powers for the Environmental Agency. 

The report also proposes an Air Quality Commission to bring stakeholders and the public together “to discover the facts about air pollution as it affects Gibraltar”, and says Gibraltar plans to expand and improve its climate monitoring programme to support academic research and short-term health forecasting based on the weather.