16 December 2014 – The Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, today stressed during the presentation of the tenth edition of the 2013 Environmental Profile of Spain that the environmental indicators confirm a positive evolution and that it shows that it is possible to promote economic development that respects the environment. Federico Ramos, together with the general directors of Environmental Quality and Assessment and the Natural Environment, Guillermina Yanguas; of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea, Pablo Saavedra; of Water, Liana Ardiles and of the Spanish Office for Climate Change, Susana Magro, reviewed different indicators of the Environmental Profile and assessed the progress made towards the goal of a low-carbon economy.
The tenth edition of this report, which collects the most recent data available on the environment and is based on the analysis of 82 indicators, describes the situation in Spain in relation to strategic areas or sectors for the environment.
GLOBAL INFORMATION
It is a report for managers, experts and scientists, and citizens in general, which disseminates the progress of our country in the search for sustainability and the improvement of efficiency in the use of natural resources.
This 2013 edition has 17 chapters, among which are environmental areas themselves, such as air, water, soil, nature, waste and the productive or development issues or sectors from which the main pressures on the environment originate, such as agriculture, transport, industry, tourism, among others.
It also incorporates other chapters derived from advances in current environmental trends, such as “Green Economy” or “Research, Development and Innovation in the Environment”, and which cannot remain on the margins of information needs, especially in a context in which the environment is a source of employment and economic development.
The content of each chapter of the Profile has an introduction and key messages, which this year, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its publication, reflect, in a specific way, information on the evolution of this indicator in the last ten years. For its part, each indicator includes its corresponding graph, an analysis or evaluation in an explanatory text that may include complementary information, referring to the autonomous communities and/or our European environment.
Although its content focuses mainly on offering global information on Spain, it also includes references to the regional level. The fact of incorporating information disaggregated by autonomous communities in the indicators, incorporates the entire plurality of the Spanish State, providing in a single document, information referring to the entire territorial area, which allows a complete environmental x-ray of the country to be obtained.
In addition, it offers explanatory notes and the sources of origin of the data, as well as links to the website where you can expand and find more information. The content of the publication is complemented by another chapter, it offers explanatory notes and the sources of origin of the data, as well as the links to the website where you can expand and find more information. The content of the publication is complemented by a chapter called “General Framework” that contextualizes environmental information in the current social and economic environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
In terms of the fight against climate change, Spain has one of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per inhabitant and per unit of GDP in Europe and since 2007 there has been a significant reduction in total emissions.
Specifically, in 2012 Spain contributed 7.5% of the total emissions of the EU-28 and emitted 7.28 tonnes of CO2-equivalent/inhabitant, a figure lower than the average recorded in the European Union: 9.0 tonnes of CO2 equivalent/inhabitant. In relation to GDP, Spain was also one of the countries with the lowest emissions intensity and to generate one unit of GDP, 0.33 kg of CO2-equivalent were emitted in 2012, while in the EU-28, this intensity was 0.35 kg of CO2-equivalent.
In terms of water, the consumption of water distributed in Spain by the public supply network has fallen by 12.3% between 2002 and 2011. By sectors, the reduction has been 5.1% in households, 22.2% in economic sectors and 33% in municipal consumption.
INCREASE IN PROTECTED AREAS
As for natural areas, those belonging to the Natura 2000 Network constitute 27.2% of our territory with data from 2013. In this way, Spain is one of the countries in the European Union with the greatest biodiversity, and is, by far, the State that contributes the largest area to the Natura 2000 Network.
Due to their size, the Autonomous Communities that contribute the largest area to the Spanish Natura 2000 Network are Andalusia, Castilla y León and Castilla-La
Stain. With regard to the relative surface area included in each region, cabe offers some explanatory notes and the sources of origin of the data, as well as the links on the website where more information can be found and found. The content of the publication is complemented by a chapter called “General Framework” that contextualizes environmental information in the current social and economic environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
In terms of the fight against climate change, Spain has one of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per inhabitant and per unit of GDP in Europe and since 2007 there has been a significant reduction in total emissions.
Specifically, in 2012 Spain contributed 7.5% of the total emissions of the EU-28 and emitted 7.28 tonnes of CO2-equivalent/inhabitant, a figure lower than the average recorded in the European Union: 9.0 tonnes of CO2 equivalent/inhabitant. In relation to GDP, Spain was also one of the countries with the lowest emissions intensity and to generate one unit of GDP, 0.33 kg of CO2-equivalent were emitted in 2012, while in the EU-28, this intensity was 0.35 kg of CO2-equivalent.
In terms of water, the consumption of water distributed in Spain by the public supply network has fallen by 12.3% between 2002 and 2011. By sectors, the reduction has been 5.1% in households, 22.2% in economic sectors and 33% in municipal consumption.
INCREASE IN PROTECTED AREAS
As for natural areas, those belonging to the Natura 2000 Network constitute 27.2% of our territory with data from 2013. In this way, Spain is one of the countries in the European Union with the greatest biodiversity, and is, by far, the State that contributes the largest area to the Natura 2000 Network.
Due to their extension, the Autonomous Communities that contribute the largest area to the Spanish Natura 2000 Network are Andalusia, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. With respect to the relative area included in each region, it is called the “General Framework” that contextualizes environmental information in the current social and economic environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
In terms of the fight against climate change, Spain has one of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per inhabitant and per unit of GDP in Europe and since 2007 there has been a significant reduction in total emissions.
Specifically, in 2012 Spain contributed 7.5% of the total emissions of the EU-28 and emitted 7.28 tonnes of CO2-equivalent/inhabitant, a figure lower than the average recorded in the European Union: 9.0 tonnes of CO2 equivalent/inhabitant. In relation to GDP, Spain was also one of the countries with the lowest emissions intensity and to generate one unit of GDP, 0.33 kg of CO2-equivalent were emitted in 2012, while in the EU-28, this intensity was 0.35 kg of CO2-equivalent.
In terms of water, the consumption of water distributed in Spain by the public supply network has fallen by 12.3% between 2002 and 2011. By sectors, the reduction has been 5.1% in households, 22.2% in economic sectors and 33% in municipal consumption.
INCREASE IN PROTECTED AREAS
As for natural areas, those belonging to the Natura 2000 Network constitute 27.2% of our territory with data from 2013. In this way, Spain is one of the countries in the European Union with the greatest biodiversity, and is, by far, the State that contributes the largest area to the Natura 2000 Network.
Due to their extension, the Autonomous Communities that contribute the largest area to the Spanish Natura 2000 Network are Andalusia, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. With regard to the relative area included in each region, it is worth highlighting the contributions of the Canary Islands (with 46.73% of its area), the Community of Madrid (39.86%) and the Community of Valencia (37.46%).
On the other hand, in the field of waste, according to data from the Environmental Profile, in Spain In 2000 the highest waste generation per inhabitant in recent years was recorded, with 656 kg, starting a continuous decline until reaching 464 kg/inhabitant in 2012, which represents a decrease of 29.5%.
With regard to the Network of Marine Protected Areas, it is consolidated year after year and incorporates spaces into it. In addition to the 24 Macaronesian marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and other marine protected areas (such as Cachucho) and reserves of fishing interest in external waters established in 2013, there are 39 Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) and the 10 new marine Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) processed during 2014.
As in previous years, this publication is now available on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (www.magrama.es) and, for the second consecutive year, the Ministry has developed a version for mobile devices for the Environmental Profile, facilitating its access and, therefore, its consultation and use and with the aim of achieving greater dissemination. Having versions for smartphones and tablets, in the most common operating systems, due to the ease of use that this technology represents, brings information closer to the demanding sectors and complements the usual use by consulting it on the Ministry’s website. The number of downloads of the first edition as an app, in 2012, has been around 800.
