The Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, welcomed the approval today in the Ecological Transition Commission of the Congress of Deputies of the draft Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition and its submission to the Senate, a text that establishes the objectives to achieve the full decarbonisation of the economy before 2050 with a 100% renewable electricity system.
For Ribera, “today is an important day, in which an enormously ambitious climate law is approved as a result of joint work on which there is still room to continue improving on a trajectory that is not linear, but must be progressively increased as we reach cruising speed in the time to come. because in climate change we are late.”
A REINFORCED AND PARTICIPATED TEXT
The vice-president wanted to stress that all parliamentary groups have been working on the definition of this law since the Council of Ministers sent it to the Lower House on 19 May. “It is a reinforced text in terms of ambition, governance, participation and transparency, which has been enriched thanks to the contributions of the different political formations, thanks to the contributions of very different social and economic sectors, thanks to science,” he said.
This bill sets out how to prepare for the impacts of climate change and how to prevent its causes with adaptation, anticipation, and resilience tools. “It is a priority to ensure that all public and private resources are allocated to taking advantage of opportunities and reducing the costs associated with the climate effects with which we are already, unfortunately, living,” Ribera insisted.
He also pointed out that the new law will make it possible to modernise our industry and make it competitive in new markets, strengthen our social fabric, attract investment in the technologies of the future, avoid financial risks, generate stable employment and facilitate an equitable distribution of wealth in the decarbonisation process, guided by criteria of social justice and just transition strategies.
The Vice-President stressed that this project is a first step to articulate the rest of the policies and measures, and thus guide the recovery process towards a model of lasting prosperity that respects the limits of the planet. “It must serve as an institutional framework and a benchmark to provide certainty and stability, and mobilise climate action”, he remarked.
Teresa Ribera recalled that the bill sets quantified objectives for greenhouse gases, renewables and energy efficiency, which constitute an unbreakable minimum because they will always be revised upwards. These objectives are above those objectives assigned by the European Union (EU) to Spain. The project is aligned with the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) which includes the necessary measures and tools to implement the ecological transition included in the bill and which has been valued very positively by the EU institutions.
MORE AMBITIOUS TARGETS THAN THOSE REQUIRED BY THE EU
This “unwavering ambition”, in the words of Teresa Ribera, is reflected, on the one hand, in the emission reduction targets in diffuse sectors (mobility, thermal uses in buildings, waste or agriculture): Spain is committed to a 39% reduction, 13 points above the 26% target set by the European Union.
Likewise, while the EU establishes a penetration of renewables between 38% and 40% in final energy consumption by 2030, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan establishes 42% for Spain. In terms of energy efficiency, Europe considers an increase of between 36 and 37% necessary by 2030, while the Spanish target is 39.5%.
“Without a doubt, it is a great effort that is worth undertaking and that sows great opportunities for innovation and knowledge”, said Ribera, in reference to “a law that guarantees channels of participation, updating and constant improvement”. A law that is good for everyone, for current and future generations, to leave no one behind, no group and no territory, to protect the competitiveness of our industrial fabric and to protect biodiversity. In short, it is a credible country project in line with the transformation and recovery from the COVID crisis in a green key that the EU is committed to for all sectors of society.
