Environment plan sets out long-term proposals to improve air quality

Gibraltar continues to face significant challenges in improving air quality due to its small size and the high concentration of activity within a limited area, the newly published 25-Year Environment Plan states, as it sets out high-level long-term strategies to tackle air pollution.

The 25-year plan states that poor air quality, particularly within urban areas, is harmful to health, especially but not exclusively for people with pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease, lung conditions and asthma.

It also causes acidification of soils and water, damaging plant and animal life and damaging the fabric of buildings and monuments.

“Government therefore has a responsibility to its citizens to tackle the leading causes of air pollution in Gibraltar,” the plan states.

To add to the challenge, is also subjected to trans-frontier air pollution which is at least partly outside of the Gibraltar Government’s control, the plan states.

New proposed health guidelines from the World Health Organization will be challenging to achieve but reflect the fact that there is no threshold below which it is safe to breathe these pollutants.

In setting out strategies to tackle air pollution, however, the plan is clear about an inescapable source of emissions on the Rock.

“Road traffic is a significant problem in Gibraltar,” the plan states.

“The active travel strategy will help to encourage people out of their vehicles and onto more sustainable travel modes, however, car use will still continue to be high in the short term.”

The plan, which is currently open to consultation, proposes a roll out of an extensive electric vehicle charging network, as set out in the 2024 EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy, to incentivise the purchase of full electric vehicles and the introduction of low emission zones in the city centre.

The Government will also seek to provide pavements where there are currently none and to make walking and cycling routes through Gibraltar safer and more attractive.

“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, however, the benefits to both health and the environment are undeniable,” the plan states.

To tackle HGV pollution the Government will require all newly registered HGVs to meet Euro 6 emission standards as from 2024.

And in order to tackle existing HGVs that use Gibraltar’s road, it will introduce a tax for these to discourage their use and implement the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’.

Emissions from shipping are also a cause for concern and recent changes to the Public Health Act introduced a penalty for ships emitting black smoke.

However, these are difficult to enforce in practice, the new plan acknowledges.

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

The Port Authority and the GEA are also working to introduce shoreside power at the North Mole.

For Gibraltar, emissions from international shipping and bunkering, which are defined as ‘scope 3 emissions’ and therefore fall outside of the manageable inventory, account for over 80% of total emissions, the plan states.

“As such the decarbonisation at a global scale is of critical interest to Gibraltar’s long term carbon reduction ambitions,” the plan adds.

In 2023, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) published its revised greenhouse gas strategy which sets out three key ambitions to reduce carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030.

The IMO wants the uptake of zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emission technologies, fuels and energy sources to represent at least 5%, striving for 10% of the energy used by 2030.

It also wants greenhouse emissions from international shipping to reach net zero by or around 2050.

The IMO strategy also sets out indicative checkpoints to reduce the total annual greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, and to reduce the total annual greenhouse gas emissions from ships by at least 70%, striving for 80% by 2040.

“All shipping operators will be required to comply with these requirements and therefore the Gibraltar Port Authority will need to be ready to respond to the changing needs and demands of the industry,” states the plan.

CONSTRUCTION
The construction industry is one of the largest users of global resources and contributors to pollution.

To combat this, the 25-year plan proposes a requirement for the industry to reduce pollution and waste by using cleaner materials, better design, more efficient production methods and recycling or reusing building materials.

The Gibraltar Government will set targets for the reduction of waste from construction.

It will also work with industry to develop a Net Zero Standard for buildings that takes into consideration the embodied energy of the building as well as the operational energy over its lifetime, states the plan.

“Government will also review the Dust Control Regulations and accompanying Guidance Document to tighten the requirements around construction, particularly for projects in densely populated areas where residents will be most affected,” the plan added.

“The regulations will also seek to give the Environmental Agency greater powers to enforce the standards and fine offenders.”

“Government will work with the private sector to support a Considerate Contractors Scheme and encourage its adoption by only working with contractors that abide by it.”

AIR QUALITY COMMISSION
The Government will also establish an Air Quality Commission as the importance of civic engagement is crucial in addressing air pollution.

“The Air Quality Commission will help to pull together key stakeholders, and the public, in a common endeavour to discover the facts about air pollution as it affects Gibraltar,” the plan states.

The Commission will not be a forum for holding politicians to account, but rather a mechanism of engaging on collective actions in which Government is a key but not the sole player.

The short-term plan for this is to provide shore side power at the Gibraltar Port, require all grounded aircraft to use ground source electricity and introduce a Low Emissions Zone in Main Street.

There will also be measures to end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel vehicles and increase grant provision for electric plug-in vehicles, alongside continuing the creation of segregated bicycle lanes and implementing a park-and-ride scheme for visitors.

Preferential parking will be provided for EVs in the city centre and a grant introduced for the installation of home EV charging points.

The Government will explore introducing tax weighted to vehicle carbon emissions and, for its own fleet, will purchase only electric - minimum hybrid - vehicles and taxis and public service vehicles.

Waste reduction targets will be introduced for the construction industry and dust control regulations will be tightened, with plans too to expand and improve the climate monitoring programme and introduce a ‘Considerate Contractor Scheme’.

In the medium term, the intention is to increase the distance of bunkering operations from bathing areas.

Other medium-term measures include a smoking ban in children's parks and introduction of a Clean Air Bill; introduction of a point-of-use tax for HGVs that do not comply with Euro 6 standards; implementation of a fast-charging point network across Gibraltar; and introduction of a carbon tax for households with three or more registered vehicles.

A Net Zero Building Standard will be developed, and active ventilation will be introduced in the Dudley Ward and Keightley Way Tunnels, as will a scrappage scheme for old cars.

The Government will continue to explore the feasibility of electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, or other low emission buses and the phasing-out of aging buses.

It will also gradually remove on-street parking - providing multi-storey facilities if need be - in the city centre to be replaced with pavements, trees and shrubs or cycle lanes.

Options will be explored for the establishment of a ‘Ride to Work’ scheme to encourage employers to assist employees to switch to more sustainable modes of transport.

By 2030, the aim it to allow only zero-emission cars and vans to circulate in Low and Zero Emissions Zones.

In the long term, vapour recovery technology will be required on all fuelling transactions from shipping as well as land-based activities.

The wider strategic aim is to shift away from a fuel-based economy.

Having published the plan, the Government is now inviting feedback from the public.

“Research shows that the best approach to solving problems is to integrate the views of different people who are each likely to bring a unique perspective,” No.6 Convent Place said in a statement.

“Every member of the community is a stakeholder in this plan and the Government would therefore encourage as many people as possible to review the document and provide comments and feedback via e-mail to info.environment@gibraltar.gov.gi.”

The consultation period is open until the January 24, 2025.