The Congress of Deputies has approved Spain’s first Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition. The text, which comes at a key moment to activate the levers of economic recovery, establishes the objectives to achieve the full decarbonisation of the economy before 2050.

The Congress of Deputies has approved Spain’s first Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition. The text, which comes at a key moment to activate the levers of economic recovery, establishes the objectives to achieve the full decarbonisation of the economy before 2050.

All the parliamentary groups have worked on the text of the law. After having passed through the Congress and the Senate, the text has been enriched and reinforced with the amendments made. The Climate Change and Energy Transition law contemplates a first upward revision of its objectives in 2023.

The impacts of climate change are already evident in our country: the storm Gloria that hit the Spanish coast and the storm Filomena that last January immobilized a large part of the country, are just two phenomena that show the forcefulness of the effects of climate alteration. Extreme weather events of this type mean an average of almost 700 lives and 900 million euros a year for our country. For this reason, a law was needed that was committed to transforming our development model, integrating sustainability and resilience criteria.

In the last two years, Spain has made more progress than ever in the assumption of climate commitments, international leadership and the development of public policies. To shortcut the path towards full decarbonisation with more ambition, this project is a first step towards articulating the rest of the policies and measures towards the decarbonisation plan and thus orienting the recovery process towards a lasting prosperity model that respects the limits of the planet.

FIRM COMMITMENT TO DECARBONIZATION
Spain’s commitment to decarbonisation is reflected in the emission reduction targets in diffuse sectors (mobility, thermal uses in buildings, waste or agriculture) which, with a reduction of 39%, is 13 points above the 26% target set by the European Union.

On the other hand, 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% by 2030 to be necessary, while the Spanish target is 39.5%.