The bill aims to immediately phase out all new coal, oil and natural gas extraction projects and ban subsidies to fossil fuels. The goal is to achieve emissions neutrality by 2050.
On 19 May, through the hands of Vice President and Minister for Ecological Recovery Teresa Ribera, the Spanish government presented to Parliament an ambitious climate bill that, once approved, will put Spain on the path to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and producing electricity 100 per cent from renewable sources. It will also immediately eliminate all subsidies to fossil fuels and ban new extraction projects for coal, oil and natural gas. The bill fits within the framework already set by Europe with the package linked to the European Green Deal and the more recent Recovery Plan — the plan for Europe's recovery in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
On 21 January, the Spanish government declared a climate emergency, and among the measures to combat it included a commitment to prepare and present the bill to Parliament within its first 100 days in office — but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed it. "We would have liked to present this law under different circumstances several weeks ago," said Minister Teresa Ribera in an official statement. "Unfortunately, it has been presented to Parliament at a time when we are discussing how to rebuild and recover our country from a crisis. The law will help guide this debate and facilitate a recovery in line with the European Green Deal."
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The text approved in recent weeks comes after a long process that began as far back as late 2018 and concluded in February 2019 with a public consultation. Reaching Parliament was therefore an important step, as the bill will be subjected to debate and amendments by all political parties before becoming law. The objective, as explained by Ribera herself, is that "the energy transition becomes an important driving force for generating economic activity and employment in the short term and in a manner consistent with what we will need as a country in the medium and long term."
To achieve net zero emissions by mid-century, the package sets out intermediate stages. For example, reducing emissions by 23 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, doubling the share of total renewable energy to 35–42 per cent, making electricity at least 70 per cent renewable, and reducing overall energy consumption by at least 35 per cent through energy efficiency and the renovation of buildings and homes.
Mobility represents a chapter of its own, and is expected to receive strong incentives to become entirely electric. The bill indeed requires that all new cars be zero-emission by 2040. "This bill places the fight against climate change and the energy transition at the centre of public action," the minister added. "It is a national project that shows our responsibility towards our present, our health, our quality of life, our model of prosperity and, above all, our future."
The law is expected to generate over 200 billion euros in investment by 2030 and create up to 350,000 new jobs. But according to Ana Barreira, director of the International Institute for Law and the Environment (Iidma), as she explains in an editorial published on Euractiv, "the present bill provides for the creation of a committee on climate change and energy to assess and make recommendations on energy and climate change policies. Although this committee mirrors the UK's climate change committee and other similar advisory bodies that have been established in countries such as France and Sweden, the Spanish proposal is not strong enough," since "Spain is a country in which the autonomous communities hold many of the competences needed to implement the future law. For this reason, the bill should have included a strengthened governance framework for cooperation and coordination."