Dr Cortes reflected on his frustration with the current state of play in terms of combating the changing weather patterns: “It should not surprise anyone that I feel that we need more progress on climate change. I have often stated that I will never feel that enough is being done on the environment.”
“This is part of who I am. I am worried about the future of our planet and it frustrates me that some people still need convincing, or simply won’t act with the urgency that we need.”
“A government cannot achieve the ambitious and important aims in a climate change strategy, which to me sets a minimum of what needs to be done, on its own.” He added.
“There has been significant progress including in the private sector, but society as a whole has to embrace the climate emergency with more vigour.
“Private individuals, business and all those in the private sector, and those directly or indirectly working in the public sector need to do more, more quickly, and be more ambitious.”
It is now closing in on a year since COP26 was held in Glasgow, where the main goals included limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees this century, and to secure net zero carbon emissions by the middle of this century.
Meeting the net zero target will be a Herculean task of accelerating the phase-out of coal and other fossil fuels that are major part of the global energy base, curtailing deforestation, speeding up the switch to electric vehicles, and also to escalate the investment in renewable energy.

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16-09-22 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR