The Government updates marine protection objectives

United Nations, Sep 23 (EFE) - The Council of Ministers updated the environmental objectives of the marine protection strategy on Wednesday, as announced on Monday by the Third Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen.

Aagesen explained this in an interview with EFE in New York, on the occasion of the United Nations High-Level Week, where Spain formalized its adherence to the Pioneers for the Oceans Coalition and the Kananaskis Charter on forest fires.

"Tomorrow, we will approve something as important as updating the third cycle's objectives and indicators regarding the marine protection strategy," he declared.

The minister specified that the update will affect the five existing marine demarcations in Spain and will aim to make the use of maritime space compatible with biodiversity conservation, in line with the Global Ocean Treaty, which will come into force next January.

"The goal is to achieve the highest environmental quality for our waters," he added.

During High-Level Week, in meetings such as the one between Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Spain is delivering an environmental message of "maximum ambition and leadership," Aagesen emphasized.

Optimistic about COP30

Regarding COP30, the climate summit to be held in Brazil in November 2025, the third vice president expressed optimism, stating that Europe will maintain a position of "leadership and defense of the green agenda."

Asked about the climate denialism of the Donald Trump administration, Aagesen acknowledged that "it's true that there are many challenges and that the political context is very complicated." However, she emphasized that "there are more of us" committed to combating the climate crisis, even though the deniers are "making more noise."

"We must send a message of consensus, of unity, and continue working together," he noted.

Climate Convention in Ponferrada

The minister also confirmed that the State Pact convention on the Climate Emergency will be held on October 13 and 14 in Ponferrada (Castilla y León), due to the fact that it has been "heavily affected" by the forest fires that have scorched large areas of the country this summer.

The convention will be held at the Energy City in Ponferrada, and, according to the minister, young people, academic experts, environmental organizations, and various political forces are expected to participate.

"It's not about the government telling us what to do. We all need to decide together how we tackle climate change," Aagesen said.

Regarding forest fires, the vice president stressed that "prevention must come before extinction" and defended the government's efforts to strengthen preparations before each season and to "dignify" the work of forest firefighters.

Aagesen also called on regional governments to take responsibility for implementing prevention campaigns and improving forest management.

"There's still a lot of work ahead. Forest management is something that takes years of work, and I'm convinced that what happened this summer should serve as lessons learned to mitigate any impact going forward," she said.