Agenda21: On Climate change, illegal fishing (and filching), plastic bottles.
Chris Jones
The Town Hall is organising some public meetings to brief people about the plan and receive queries and comment.
Spain's economy on the up
June 30th
Spain is heading for its third consecutive year of economic growth of just over 3%, the fastest of any large economy in the euro area. It is creating about 500,000 jobs a year. According to Luis de Guindos, the economy minister, last month the country’s GDP surpassed its pre-crisis peak. Much of the credit for this recovery goes to structural reforms the government pushed through in 2012. Spain’s renewed growth has sounder foundations than in the past. In the early years of this century the economy was powered by construction, which accounted for up to a fifth of GDP, and by foreign loans. This time the growth is led by exports, which have reached 33% of GDP (up from 23% in 2009). “We’ve recovered competitiveness,” says Mr de Guindos. Spain is now continental Europe’s second-biggest car producer and exporter after Germany. Tourism is booming, too. The country has diversified its exports into chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and professional services. More than 150,000 Spanish companies export, half as many again as in 2007. For full story see:The Economist
Iberdrola and MIT Energy Initiative announce $10.3 million collaboration to spur energy and environmental innovation
June 30th
The $10.3 million, five-year collaboration aims to advance technologies and policies that contribute to the energy transition and the fight against climate change, supporting numerous efforts through the MIT Energy Initiative and related MIT initiatives. “Climate change and the policies created to address it have significant implications for businesses — it will fundamentally change products, services, and operating models,” Galán said. “Successful companies need to actively seek the opportunities a clean economy creates. Iberdrola constitutes a perfect example of the potential of the electricity sector. The company is a world leader in renewable energies, which represent almost 60 percent of Iberdrola’s mix, and we plan to reduce further our carbon dioxide emission intensity by at least 50 percent by 2030. "MIT, one of the world's leading idea incubators, is the perfect research collaborator to deliver the technologies and solutions that will lead us towards a clean energy future,” Galán added. For full story see: Renewable Energy Magazine.
Wildfire season starts
June 30th
Two major wildfires in Spain hit the news over the past week: one in the Doñana Natural Park, in Andalucia where 2,000 residents have been evacuated. Two holiday parks, the Parador Nacional State-run hotel and the El Arenosillo Army barracks have all been emptied and their occupants forced to flee for their own safety. (See: ThinkSpainThe second fire is in the Sierra Calderona nature reserve spanning the Valencia and Castellón provincial borders. This fire has wiped out 500 hectares forcing hundreds of evacuations and blocking the A-23 Valencia-Zaragoza-Huesca motorway. A country house in Segorbe and several farms in Soneja, both in the province of Castellón, have been evacuated as the flames rage out of control between the villages of Gàtova (Valencia province) and Altura (Castellón province). The fire is believed to have been started by a lightning strike. For full story see .ThinkSpain
A million bottles a minute: world's plastic binge 'as dangerous as climate change'
June 30th
A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change. More than 480bn plastic drinking bottles were sold in 2016 across the world, up from about 300bn a decade ago. If placed end to end, they would extend more than halfway to the sun. By 2021 this will increase to 583.3bn, according to the most up-to-date estimates from Euromonitor International’s global packaging trends report. Most plastic bottles used for soft drinks and water are made from polyethylene terephthalate (Pet), which is highly recyclable. But as their use soars across the globe, efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from polluting the oceans, are failing to keep up. Fewer than half of the bottles bought in 2016 were collected for recycling and just 7% of those collected were turned into new bottles. Instead most plastic bottles produced end up in landfill or in the ocean. For full story see: The Guardian
Divers caught fishing illegally and expropriating archaeological artefacts
June 30th
On June 26th, a member of the public called the Denia police to report suspicious diving activity in the marine reserve of the cabo de San Antonio. As a result the coast guard arrested three divers, plus their boat and equipment. The catch of ten fish, including bream, sea-bass and grouper, were donated to the Santa Llúcia residential home. (From: La Marina Plaza Earlier, on June 21st, the Xàbia police caught a French diver who was lifting a piece of 2000 year old amphora from the sea bed near the Portitxol Island. The case was referred to GEAS (Special Underwater Activities Group of the Civil Guard - the unit of the Spanish Civil Guard in charge of the search and rescue of people and the location and recovery of objects in the aquatic environment), and the culprit charged with expropriating historical heritage. GEAS is considering a dive in the area, to see if there are more archaeological remains. From: Las Provincias
Yet more rubbish on the beach after San Juan
June 30th
San Juan passed in Xàbia without reported adverse incidents, but in Valencia the cleaning operation collected 89% more waste than the previous year, going from 18 to 34 tons of garbage. According to the Councillor for Beaches and Cleaning, Pilar Soriano, they collected 32,000 kilos of waste from northern beaches compared to a little under 16,000 in 2016, and n beaches 3,000 kilos compared to 2,300 last year from the southern beaches. The Red Cross dealt with four people for alcohol poisoning, and one for burns.
New heatwave throughout Spain breaks records for minimum temperatures
June 14th
For the first time since Saturday, when summer kicked in with high temperatures throughout Spain, Tuesday produced two record breakers, albeit at the lower end of the thermometer. In Zamora, the minimum temperature was 22.2ºC, the highest minimum for a June since records began in 1920. Meanwhile, in Salamanca, the minimum was 21.7ºC, the highest since 1940. So far no records have been broken in terms of top temperatures, but AEMET noted 40.6ºC in Granada, which spokesman Rubén del Campo said was “10ºC higher than normal for the time of the year.” For full story see: El Pais in English
Spain: time to get serious about addressing climate change
June 11th
The Spanish government’s own forecasts indicate that, far from reducing emissions, Spain is on course to increase them over the next 20 years. In 2040, the country will spill the equivalent of 353.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CDE) into the atmosphere, which will be 18 million tons more than in 2015. Energy is responsible for almost 80% of Spanish CO2 emissions. Within that sphere, electricity generation accounted for 26% of emissions in 2015, while transportation represented 25%. In order to reach the Paris objectives, the emissions from these sectors need to be tackled. Hence, both the Environment and Energy ministries are involved in drafting the new law before it is sent to Brussels. As far as electricity is concerned, technological progress coupled with lower costs for renewables brings closer the prospect of clean energy production. But parties and industry representatives must still reach consensus on matters such as the role of nuclear power, a schedule for the phaseout of fossil fuels, and the role of home generation. Meanwhile, clean transportation presents a challenge, with electric cars still representing a negligible share of vehicles on Spanish roads. Between 1990 and 2015, transportation emissions grew by 41%. If nothing is done, the government forecasts an increase of another 15% by 2030. for full story see: El Pais in English
--
Cullen Hightower