Spain approves the first climate change law

This May, the Congress of Deputies approved a law aimed at curbing climate change, but what does it consist of?

Spain’s first climate change law officially came into force last Thursday, after receiving the support of all the parties in the chamber except for the PP and Más País, who abstained for various reasons, and Vox’s dissenting vote. But, beyond the symbolism of these types of decisions, you’re probably asking yourself a question that we want to answer below: what does this new law consist of?

At first glance, several commitments can be outlined that are in line with the 2030 Agenda promoted by the United Nations and the plans of the European Green Deal. And Spain has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 23% by the end of the decade, taking 1990 levels as a reference. This commitment does not end there; it is an intermediate step towards achieving climate neutrality, the deadline for which will be 2050 at the latest.

Furthermore, and with regard to the ever-increasing role of renewable energy, this roadmap stipulates that at least 42% of final energy consumption must be of renewable origin by 2030, with 74% of electricity generation coming from these types of energy sources, compared to the current 40%. Objectives that, according to several media outlets, are expected to be revised upwards in 2023. In addition, from now on, new hydrocarbon extraction projects in Spain are prohibited and the technique of hydraulic fracturing, fracking, is banned.

With regard to mobility and its decisive role in climate change, the big news is the elimination of the sale of combustion vehicles by 2040 and the need for the entire fleet of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to be free of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. This news, added to the need for municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants—or 20,000 when they have air quality problems—to have low-emission zones, places the electric vehicle as the real alternative to current pollution problems.

In relation to the current lack of charging points for electric vehicles, service stations will be forced to install this type of “electric charging stations,” for which a progressive plan has been created, beginning with the largest establishments and eventually extending to the smallest gas stations. Thus, the former will be required to have at least one electric charging point with a power equal to or greater than 150 kW within 21 months of the approval of this legislation. In addition, new buildings under construction must have this type of device; measure that will also apply to existing buildings and private non-residential buildings with a capacity of more than 20 places.

Teresa Ribera, Minister for Ecological Transition, has highlighted that “it is a law that the country needed and that had been postponed for too long”. Something that, in the words of the minister, has been seen due to “the degree of involvement and interest” of the different parliamentary groups, after receiving a total of 758 partial amendments in the Lower House, of which 3 have been incorporated – along with another 16 transactional ones -, and 585 amendments on its way through the Senate, of which 5 have been included.

“We are addressing complex challenges at a difficult time for our society and, however, it is at this same juncture where the urgency of transforming our development model and our way of life by integrating the criteria of sustainability and resilience is clearly evident,” declared Ribera.