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New Canary Islands foundation takes on climate change
The Fundación Canaria Islas Verdes was officially presented to the public this Thursday at El Soco, home of the Gran Canaria Cabildo’s Island Directorate for Citizen Participation, in the capital’s Triana district. It is a non-profit organisation, based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, that was founded with a clear purpose: to act against climate change from the Canary Islands and for the Canary Islands. Around a hundred people attended the event, which was led by the foundation’s president, José Manuel Baltar Trabazo, and presented by its director, Heriberto Dávila.
A positive approach that avoids doom-mongering
The foundation championed an approach that steers clear of catastrophism and focuses on solutions. Its motto sums it up: “Caring for the islands is caring for ourselves.” In the words of its director, Heriberto Dávila: “Of course there is room in our society for campaigning and protest, but our foundation was born to work in a positive way, to build projects that transform our land, and we can only do that through collaboration between society, businesses and institutions.”
Political, business and academic support
The event was attended by the Deputy Minister for Ecological Transition of the Government of the Canary Islands, Julieta Schallenberg, and two Gran Canaria Cabildo councillors: its second vice-president, Teodoro Sosa, and the councillor for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge, Raúl García Brink. The president of the Confederation of Canary Islands Businesses, Pedro Ortega, was also present. The venue was filled to capacity with representatives of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (PLOCAN), Global, Guaguas Municipales, the ECCA Social Foundation, the Foresta Foundation and the “Mejor en Bici” association, among other organisations, as well as companies such as Canaragua, Grupo Dinosol, Grupo Loro Parque and HL2 Ingeniería y Consultoría.
Four pillars and first lines of work
The foundation is registered in the Register of Canary Islands Foundations under number 428. Its work will focus on sustainable mobility, the responsible management of resources and waste, and citizen participation. It will do so around four pillars: innovation, collaboration between the public sector, the private sector and the public, protection of the natural environment, and awareness-raising. Its first lines of work are environmental education programmes for schools and businesses, and support for companies in drawing up their sustainable mobility plans. It also has a think tank project under way on nature-based solutions for adapting to climate change.
“The Canary Islands have given me everything. This foundation is my way of starting to give something back,” said José Manuel Baltar during his speech.
An “unpredictable climate” and a planet that is reaching its limits
The guest speaker was Josep Lluís Pelegrí, a research professor at the CSIC’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona. His talk, ‘Un clima imprevisible: secuela de un nuevo metabolismo planetario’ (‘An unpredictable climate: the aftermath of a new planetary metabolism’), explained that the ocean is the great regulator of the climate and that human activity is altering the planet’s balance. He argued that, as well as seeking solutions, we must accept that we live on a finite Earth and change the way we live.
How to get involved
People and businesses who wish to collaborate with the foundation can become supporting members, take part as volunteers, make a one-off donation or propose a project. The event closed with a Km 0 cocktail, at which attendees chatted with the board of trustees and learned about the foundation’s projects first-hand.
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