The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, today defended the firm commitment of Spain and its government in the fight against climate change, the rational and supportive use of resources, its commitment to a decarbonised economy and an urgent ecological transition. He did so during the closing of the event Promoting climate ambition, organised by the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
This high-level meeting brought together for the first time in Spain some of the most relevant international voices on climate change and sustainable development, which have marked the global strategy aimed at achieving a fairer and more equitable economic model, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
The president announced that the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030, which the government will shortly submit to the European Commission, will mobilise 235,000 million euros over the next decade. “These are concrete, real, accounting and effective measures,” said Sánchez, who stressed that Spain is working on a comprehensive agenda, with clear objectives in all government action, under the central premise that the ecological transition “is socially fair” and that “it does not leave anyone unprotected”.
Several urgent measures have already been approved
Sánchez stressed that the Government has already taken urgent measures such as the one approved to control the rise in the price of electricity and offer coverage to citizens in the most vulnerable situations. It has taken decisions to advance the transition to a clean and accessible energy model, has eliminated regulatory barriers, such as the sun tax, has legally recognised shared self-consumption, and promoted sustainable mobility. The Executive has also approved aid for the mining regions and is preparing an Urgent Action Plan for Just Transition, which includes the training of workers towards new job exchanges.
Pedro Sánchez added that “Spain is ready to contribute to creating a global, prosperous, fair and ecological economy”, and that “it has recovered the ingenuity lost by the economic crisis” with an “ambitious, comprehensive and budgeted” agenda. In this regard, he recalled that the General State Budget for 2019 includes a “forceful” increase in the allocations of several ministries aimed at meeting the EU’s objectives of the Climate and Energy Framework in 2030. As an example, he pointed to the 5.1% increase in investment in R+D+i, a determining factor in climate transformation.
Global responses to combat climate change
The president has indicated that the global variation of the earth’s climate “does not understand countries, ideologies or civilizations”. He considers that “it is a challenge for everyone” so that “individual answers cannot be sought to problems that require collective responses” and, therefore, he has appealed to the understanding of citizens so that they understand that environmental legislation, although they have an uncomfortable adaptation in the short term, avoid long-term damage.
Pedro Sánchez has opted to promote Europe’s transformation agenda, so that the continent is at the forefront of climate action and the ecological transition, and is able to turn the fight against climate change into an opportunity to improve competitiveness, employment and the quality of life of citizens.
Sánchez pointed out that multinational institutions, especially the United Nations, play a decisive role and considers that this organisation’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and compliance with the Paris Agreement “is a truly global social contract that binds us all”.
The meeting was attended by the Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera; the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa and the president of the Centre for Climate Change, Economics and Policy of the London School of Economics, Nicholas Stern. The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Pedro Duque, participated in the opening of the event, and the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, and the Rector of the Complutense University, Carlos Andradas, also attended.
A transition that leaves no one on the road
Minister Teresa Ribera pointed out in her speech that progress towards a fairer, more stable development model that respects the limits of the planet is not an option or a luxury but a necessity. “It is an imperative, unstoppable process that is underway at a global level,” he said.
“We are facing a paradigm shift that opens up great opportunities for innovation, competitiveness, job creation or social welfare,” said Ribera, who stressed, quoting the prestigious economist Nicholas Stern, that growth patterns will not return to what they were before the crisis. He added that “it will no longer be possible to ensure prosperous and stable progress without taking into account the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss” and that for the Government it is a priority to guarantee a fair ecological transition, which puts people at the centre and “leaves no one on the way”.
