Government have said it carefully notes with much interest the actions being taken by other countries regarding their own individual environmental policies, most recently those of the HMG in the UK as reported by the British media.

'This Government is no different in this respect and has been leading assertively, constantly raising the bar in all matters regarding the environment.' continues the statement.

'There can be no matter of greater importance than our future prosperity and security as a community, financially, socially and politically but without a very clear foresight on what has to be the most important underlying factor that affects us all as a people, not just locally, but globally, nothing else really matters more – than OUR ENVIRONMENT.

To this end, the STTPP clearly looks at encouraging and incentivising the use of alternative modes of travel and transport with a clear view of reducing factors associated with vehicle emissions. Gibraltar has one of the highest vehicle ownership rates per capita in the world. Our dependency on private transport is well documented within the STTPP yet our reluctance to move in environmentally sustainable ways is also clearly evident.

HMGoG will be shortly making clear its long-term views and commitments known regarding the sale of all new diesel and petrol cars in the future. It will lay out very clearly the aims and objectives that will commit Government and future Parliaments’ to an environmental policy which will cut across the political divide, simply because our environment has to be far more important to our long-term wellbeing and that of our children’s than anything else.'