The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, today approved the second National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) 2021-2030, a tool whose main objective is to build a less vulnerable, safer and more resilient country to the impacts and risks of climate change, capable of anticipating, to respond and adapt to a context of changing climate.
The presentation of the PNACC 2021-2030 was one of the commitments established in the agreement of the Council of Ministers of 21 January 2020 approving the Government’s Declaration on the Climate and Environmental Emergency. After going through a broad participatory process, the document adopted today by the Government not only responds to the need to adapt to the significant risks arising from climate change that Spain is facing, but is also aligned with the new policies proposed by the European Council that link adaptation with recovery policies in the face of the pandemic.
In this regard, the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, stressed that “climate action is not a watertight compartment, but is integrated as the backbone of European actions in the context of the post-COVID recovery”. The PNACC “represents our national scheme for risk management, gives certainty to investors and will allow us to better guide the recovery we are undertaking.” Undoubtedly, the PNACC will contribute to generating a more resilient primary sector, cohesive and structuring the rural environment, preparing us for higher quality tourism, creating safer infrastructures and recovering biodiversity, among other issues”.
“With adaptation policies we will not only avoid or minimize damage; we will also provide greater economic and social stability and new opportunities, since investments in planned adaptation, whether public or private, can create new economic activities and employment possibilities, reducing the uncertainty associated with climate change,” added Ribera.
PLANNING INSTRUMENT
The PNACC is thus configured as a basic planning instrument to promote coordinated and coherent action, from a transversal perspective (from different fields), multilateral (by different actors) and multilevel (from different territorial scales), in the face of the risks and threats presented by climate change in the different areas of society. Without prejudice to the competences that correspond to the various Public Administrations, the PNACC defines objectives, criteria, areas of application and actions to build resilience, anticipate and minimise damage, and define the guidelines for the sectors and society.
Specifically, it defines and describes 81 lines of action to be developed in the different socio-economic sectors of the country organised into 18 areas of work, including human health, water and water resources, natural heritage, biodiversity and protected areas, coasts and marine environment, forest protection, the fight against desertification, agriculture and livestock and food security.
This new PNACC, which covers the 2021-2030 time horizon, has as its main objective to establish a roadmap that responds to the growing needs for adaptation to climate change in Spain, with the ultimate aim of avoiding or reducing economic, social and ecological risks and promoting better preparation for recovery after impacts.
In Spain, the impact of climate change is becoming increasingly evident. The average temperature in the territory as a whole has risen by around 1.7ºC since pre-industrial times (1ºC in the whole planet), the summer has been extended by five weeks compared to the beginning of the eighties and the extension of areas with a semi-arid climate has increased by more than 30,000km2 in a period of 20 years.
And it is not only what is analyzed and observed. For the future, Science reminds us that, in the absence of adaptation responses, the impacts in Spain will be increasingly serious, and in a scenario of an increase in the global average temperature of 2ºC, they will be twice as virulent as if we manage to contain this rise in thermometers by 1.5ºC.
TOWARDS A STRONG ECONOMY AND AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Key sectors of our economy, such as agriculture, forestry, tourism or transport, are closely dependent on the climate. There are also many other fields that are essential for our well-being, such as human health, biodiversity and housing. Therefore, the PNACC aims to improve our ability to anticipate and identify the best orientations for the different sectors of our economic activity if we want to build a solid economy and an inclusive society with new employment opportunities for young people.
In this regard, and following the public information process, the document adopted today by the Council of Ministers explicitly reflects our responsibility towards future generations and recognises their role as stakeholders in all policies aimed at mitigating climate change and avoiding or reducing the risks it poses.
As a result of the intense participatory process, the document has incorporated other improvements, among which it is worth noting that the set of responsible and collaborating institutions has been expanded in some thirty lines of action, almost always at the suggestion of the interested parties themselves, which reflects a very notable willingness of public administrations, social organizations and the private sector to be involved in the definition and application of adaptation measures. Likewise, new heritage aspects have also been incorporated to be taken into consideration, including the landscape and geological heritage, while the scope of work related to biodiversity is expanded to incorporate the natural heritage as a whole.
STRENGTHENING OF INFORMATION AND MONITORING INSTRUMENTS
The National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change 2021-2030 significantly strengthens the instruments for information and monitoring of public adaptation policies, including reports on climate risks and, for the first time, an initial collection of 30 indicators that should provide a dynamic view of the effects of climate change and the progress made in terms of adaptation.
CROSS-CUTTING LINES OF ACTION
In addition to the sectoral guidelines, the plan proposes seven key lines of work to be transversal to all areas:
–Territorial and social vulnerability. Since extreme events affect both socially and territorially very unequally, geographical analysis in risk studies will be encouraged in all sectors, as well as the development of adaptation plans for very vulnerable areas and support will be given to the adaptation policies of territorially-based organizations. In addition, in the social sphere, the groups and communities with the highest level of risk will be identified and adaptive responses will be developed according to the levels of vulnerability.
–Cross-border effects. The effects of climate change beyond our borders can affect Spain. For this reason, the Plan provides for the identification of the cause-effect chains that transfer the impacts that occur outside our territory and the definition of strategies to reduce risks.
–Gender approach. Given that climate change does not affect men and women equally, the PNACC will analyze data on exposure, vulnerability and impacts disaggregated between genders; it will consider differences in risk perception and behaviours, and promote the role of women as agents and leaders of change.
–Prevention of maladaptation and perverse incentives. The Plan contemplates the creation of checklists for the verification of potential adaptation measures, the evaluation of their social effects and their ecological footprint and the incorporation of criteria to prevent counterproductive effects (it calls it “maladaptation”) in public aid.
–Costs and benefits of adaptation and inaction. There will be an estimate of the costs and benefits of action and inaction, and the conclusions will be considered in decision-making.
–Action orientation. Adaptation options based on risk analysis will be assessed, concrete measures will be planned and implemented, and monitoring and evaluation will be carried out for continuous improvement in all sectors.
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND CONSULTATIONS
The preparation of the PNACC began with an in-depth evaluation of the previous Adaptation Plan, with the participation of a wide range of people with experience in this field, to continue with the call for deliberative workshops, to which a large number of people and organizations from the public and private sectors were invited.
A first draft of this plan was submitted for public consultation between May 4 and June 30. During this period, more than 1,500 observations were received from 182 organizations and individuals. After the public information period, the updated draft of the plan was submitted for consideration by the Commission for the Coordination of Climate Change Policies, the National Climate Council and the Advisory Council for the Environment, which assessed it in monographic sessions. In these collegiate bodies, more than 50 comments and observations were raised that were studied and assessed, incorporating new changes to the document.
ENERGY AND CLIMATE PLANNING
The new National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change 2021-2030 is part of a series of energy and climate planning instruments aimed at avoiding or reducing the worst effects of climate change, including the draft Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, the Long-Term Strategy for a Modern Economy, Competitive and Climate Neutral in 2050 and the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan. All three documents include adaptation to climate change and have connections to the new PNACC.
