At a conference held on Friday in Palma, a conclusion was drawn - "mega-cruise ships" are synonymous with pollution.
The organisers of the conference were environmentalist, pressure and activist groups: GOB, Amics de la Terra, Ecologists in Action, Terraferida, Ciutat per a qui l’Habita, Palma XXI, Tramuntana XXI, Autopistes No. Experts from Belgium, Germany and Italy were invited.
An overall group - a platform against mega-cruise ships, formed from these various component entities - announced that it will be creating a committee of experts to offer advice to be used in discussions and negotiations with public authorities. Jaume Garau, secretary of Palma XXI, observed that Palma is at the "epicentre" of the fight against giant cruise ships. "They are not a local problem, but a global one." Palma, he noted, is only behind Barcelona in being the city most contaminated by cruise ships.
Garau called for the Balearic Ports Authority to be "eliminated", attacking its mistaken strategy of incentives to attract increasing numbers of cruise ships. He wanted the State Ports to act in controlling cruise ships and also criticised this body for having offered reduced taxes and incentives.
Otherwise, the conference reiterated various demands made in recent weeks in respect of limiting cruise ships, increasing the tourist tax for cruise passengers and establishing an emissions control area in the Mediterranean.
