The Plenary of the Commission for the Coordination of Climate Change Policies and the National Climate Council have endorsed the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, which aims to provide public administrations and interested organisations with tools and methods that contribute to integrating climate change adaptation policies into the planning of the different areas of activity of Spanish society.

Many ecological, economic and social sectors and systems in Spain are vulnerable to a greater or lesser extent to climate change and the assessment of this vulnerability is one of the objectives of the National Adaptation Plan. Coastal areas, the agricultural and forestry sector, water resources, biodiversity, hunting and fishing, transport, energy, urban planning, among others, have been analysed to establish measures, activities and lines of work included in the Plan.

The proposal for the second National Plan for the Allocation of Emission Rights for the period 2008-2012 was also presented. The objective of this second plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Spain by 16% for the period 2008-2012 generated by the industrial and energy sector. In relation to the diffuse sectors (transport, residential, services), the Government’s objective, in collaboration with the other public administrations, is to identify and implement additional measures so that their growth does not exceed industrial growth. This challenge means an annual reduction of 37 million tons in diffuse sectors. Hence, it is necessary for communities and municipalities to be essential partners in any public policy that seeks to fight climate change in order to achieve this objective.