The Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Culture inaugurate PHotoESPAÑA with a plea for sustainability

Environmental commitment and the fight against climate change were the main themes today at PHotoEspaña's inauguration by the acting Minister of Culture and Sports, José Guirao, and Pedro Saura, State Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport and Housing and ENAIRE's President.

Madrid's Royal Botanical Gardens will be holding two of the three exhibitions that the ENAIRE Foundation is organising as part of the 22nd edition of the PHotoESPAÑA festival.   Javier Vallhonrat's La Sombra Incisa (The Cast Shadow), first prizewinner in the Photography Achievement Awards, is the result of over 10 years of fieldwork by the photographer on the La Maladeta Glacier in the Pyrenees. During that time, the photographer explored, accompanied and coexisted with the glacier, which is currently in a fragile state of conservation.

Along with his photographic equipment and high-mountain tent, used as both home and dark room, Vallhonrat stayed there and captured this “badly-wounded” glacier year after year. He respects its vulnerability, and portrays it from many perspectives, from close range to the distance of a small plane flying over.

The Royal Botanical Gardens, as part of the PHotoESPAÑA festival, will also hold the 2019 Photography Awards, which include the three prize-winning pieces of art from this edition and the ten selected by the jury, among which is a Special Mention by PHE. Jorge Fuembuena's piece "The Fire", first prizewinner in 2019, is a compelling image combining the disgust we feel for environmental catastrophes and the tremendous creativity and superb technique employed in the photo.

Earlier on, Beatriz Montero de Espinosa, Managing Director of the ENAIRE Foundation, took part in the conference Art, science and political action in the face of climate change held in the Royal Botanical Gardens and hosted by the Biodiversity Foundation belonging to the Ministry for Ecological Transition. With two specific elements, a glacier and a forest, as the central theme, views and opinions were shared through the lens of a camera, along with relevant scientific data and decisions made by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, among others.

ENAIRE, committed to the environment

ENAIRE, following the lines set out in the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is working towards optimising its Air Traffic Control service by shortening the routes flown by aircraft in Spain. The resulting reduction of fuel consumption by 11,000 tonnes prevented over 35,500 tonnes of CO₂ from being released into the atmosphere in 2018.  

Furthermore, 100% of all energy consumed by ENAIRE since 2015 comes from renewable sources, achieving CO₂ savings equivalent to over 60,000 tons. 

The ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art

The ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art comprises approximately 1,200 artworks by the most important Spanish artists from the second half of the 20th century to the present day. It includes works by artists such as Barceló, Tàpies, Chillida, Broto, Genovés, Arroyo and Úrculo, as well as photographers such as García-Alix, Daniel Canogar and Chema Madoz.

The ENAIRE Collection will be displayed to the public at the two future permanent venues where work is underway: Naves de Gamazo in Santander, currently under construction, and La Arquería de Nuevos Ministerios, in Madrid's Paseo de la Castellana.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the company belonging to the Public Works Department that handles air navigation in Spain. It renders aerodrome control services at 21 airports, including the busiest in terms of air traffic, plus en-route and approach control, from five control centres: Barcelona, Madrid, Gran Canaria, Palma and Seville.

In 2018 ENAIRE operated 2.1 million flights to and from four continents (Europe, America, Asia and Africa), transporting 300 million passengers.

ENAIRE is the fourth most important European air navigation service provider, in a clear commitment to the Single Sky initiative, belongs to international partnerships such as SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, A6, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation).