The PP is maneuvering to avoid producing the Balearic State of the Environment Report this legislature, despite it being mandatory

PalmThe Parliament has called on the Government to prepare and publish the Report on the State of the Environment of the Balearic Islands before the end of 2026, thanks to the approval of a Non-Law Proposal (PNL) by the PSIB in the Commission for Territorial Planning, Housing, Mobility, the Sea, and the Water Cycle. Although Vox was the only party to vote against it, the PP has maneuvered to avoid carrying out the study, which is mandatory by law, during this legislature. The Popular Party has presented an amendment to remove the deadline for submission that was included in the first point and, as the PSIB rejected it, they abstained (the Popular Party did vote in favor of the other points of the initiative).

In this way, the report must incorporate indicators relating to air quality and greenhouse gas emissions; the state and management of water resources; soil conservation and biodiversity; the state of the coastline and marine ecosystems; waste production and management; energy consumption and energy transition; human, territorial, and tourist pressure; and vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The last point of the PNL calls for the report to be open and accessible, with information separated by islands, so that environmental organizations and the general public can consult the data.

"It is a legal imperative imposed by Law [state] 27/2006 and by regional regulations [Law 12/2016 and Decree 1/2020] that the Government of Marga Prohens is not currently complying with," explains PSIB deputy Pilar Carbonero, in charge of defending the initiative in the Chamber. "It is requested that the Executive comply before the end of the legislature, because the regulations state that institutions must have updated environmental information to know the real state of water, air, the coast, waste, biodiversity, energy, the marine environment, and human pressure on the territory," she continues, also lamenting the PP's abstention on the first point. "We have not accepted their amendment because it lowered the temporal requirement, and we cannot end the legislature without this report, which environmental organizations and society in general cannot have. The Government is taking steps backward in environmental matters. This is especially relevant at a time when it has dispersed environmental responsibilities among different departments and general directorates, making a global and cross-cutting vision of environmental policies difficult," she added.

Carbonero highlights the difficulties of the present moment for environmental policies: "There are fewer guarantees, more pressure on the territory, more tourists, less public information... Decisions made cannot be evaluated, nor can a long-term vision be had." At the same time, Europe emphasizes the cross-cutting nature of the environment in other aspects of society, such as the economy.