The Fourth Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Ms. Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, participated today in the opening session of #Adaptes, the First Iberian Conference for Adaptation to Climate Change, broadcast in streaming, and which is one of the main milestones of the LIFE Shara project, “Awareness and knowledge for adaptation to climate change”, whose general objective is to improve the governance of adaptation to climate change in Spain and Portugal. The Iberian Conference, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation and the Spanish Office for Climate Change, in collaboration with the Portuguese Environment Agency, can be followed through the website.
From 18 to 20 November, representatives from Spain and Portugal will jointly address present and future challenges in terms of adaptation to climate change. The results and conclusions of the Conference will contribute to deepening the planning and development of joint Spanish-Portuguese initiatives to face the challenges shared by both countries.
AN IBERIAN VISION OF ADAPTATION
In his speech, Ribera insisted on the importance of working together with Portugal on adaptation issues: “We wanted to work together with our Portuguese colleagues on this Iberian vision, because we share many of our concerns and because we are aware that the impact that climate change may have is very similar”.
The vice-president stressed the transversality of the phenomenon of climate change, and assured that “these impacts of climate change go beyond our borders, our regions, because we live in a world that is physically interdependent, but also economically”.
Teresa Ribera also stressed that nature-based solutions are key to reducing the risks associated with climate change and strengthening adaptation capacities. “We are talking about solutions designed so that our socio-economic sectors integrate them from the outset in their strategic planning, in their business model, which means developing their activity in a different climate context,” he said.
The inauguration was also attended by the Minister of Environment and Energy Transition of Portugal, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, and the Director General of the Spanish Office for Climate Change, Valvanera Ulargui Aparicio.
TEN THEMATIC SESSIONS
The Conference programme is structured in three main blocks, the first with the opening and context presentations, the second with 10 thematic sessions and the third with the conclusions and a panel of experts to reflect on the major challenges to be faced jointly by Spain and Portugal.
The Conference, which is being held in a fully virtual format, has the participation of nearly 90 speakers and more than 1,500 registered experts. The thematic sessions will cover a wide range of areas including cities, tourism, education, health, water, agriculture, biodiversity, coasts, islands and disaster risk reduction. At the end of each session, a networking space and virtual cafeteria will be set up so that participants have the opportunity to continue exchanging ideas and contacts.
The reflections and conclusions drawn from the thematic sessions will be presented during the final session of the Conference, under the title “Adaptation as a solution for the present and the future”. In this session, Fernando Valladares, researcher at the Spanish National Research Council; Cristina Monge, political scientist and executive advisor of ECODES; Joana Balsemão, Executive Councillor for the Environment and Citizenship of the Municipality of Cascais; and Sofia Santos, specialist in sustainable climate finance.
The closing will be given by Claudia Guerrini, from the European Commission, Nuno Lacasta, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency and Elena Pita, director of the MITECO Biodiversity Foundation.
The first Iberian Conference for Adaptation to Climate Change marks a milestone in the Spanish-Portuguese cooperation path to transfer and share knowledge, experiences and good practices that contribute to strengthening climate resilience in both countries. This landmark event in Europe shows all EU partners how two Member States are cooperating with the aim of making climate change adaptation an opportunity and a lever that supports recovery and transformation in both the present and the future.
ACTIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICIES
The celebration of Adaptes coincides with a strategic moment in which the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of the Government of Spain is promoting several initiatives to face the challenges posed by climate change, five years after the Paris Agreement, the first major universal and legally binding agreement on climate change, was reached. adopted at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21).
Thus, last September the Council of Ministers approved, at the proposal of MITECO, the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) 2021-2030, a tool whose main objective is to promote coordinated and coherent action against the effects of climate change in Spain in order to avoid or reduce present and future damage derived from climate change and build a more resilient economy and society.
This month the Long-Term Strategy for a Modern, Competitive and Climate Neutral Spanish Economy in 2050 (ELP 2050) was also approved. This document responds to Spain’s commitments as a Member State of the European Union in line with the Paris Agreement, and sets the path to achieving climate neutrality no later than 2050, identifying the opportunities offered by this transition in economic terms and job creation.
For its part, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030 defines the objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, penetration of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
All these instruments are included in the draft Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, which is currently pending parliamentary processing. This law aims to ensure compliance with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and facilitate the decarbonisation of the Spanish economy, which must achieve climate neutrality no later than 2050, so as to guarantee the rational and supportive use of our resources, promoting adaptation to the impacts of climate change and the implementation of a sustainable development model.
