Climate change in Spain
[12] CO2 emissions are dominated by the combustion of fossil fuels for transport and electricity generation, and by the industrial production of materials such as cement.
[16] Of that, 90% of emissions come from road transport, with light-duty vehicles, such as passenger cars and motorbikes, contributing 66% and heavy trucks and buses accounting for the remaining 34%.
The first scenario (RCP 4.5) envisages an increase in greenhouse gas emissions for several more decades, before stabilising and then decreasing before the end of the century.
[5] River basin districts with a higher water exploitation index appear to experience more significant reductions in mean annual runoff.
These impacts may aggravate existing conflicts between Spanish regions and further elevate water as a potential powerful political tool.
[29] To offset negative impacts from waterlogging and saltwater intrusion, and to maintain land elevation, future management plans should consider the relative sea level rise.
[28] Coastal measurements indicate that the global mean sea level has risen at a rate of 1.8 mm (1⁄16 in) per year from 1950 to 2000, with regional variability.
Gauge records in the Bay of Biscay indicate that sea-level rise is accelerating, which is in line with rates observed from satellite imagery in the open ocean since 1993.
The analysis of tide gauge records from Santander in northern Spain shows that relative mean sea level has been rising at a rate of 2.08 ± 0.33 mm (0.082 ± 0.013 in) per year from 1943 to 2004, consistent with trends from measurements elsewhere in the region.
However, only 2.95 hectares (7.3 acres) change was detected from historical and recent orthophotography, possibly due to sea-level rise.
The study suggested that no other factors could explain their disappearance: there is no industrial or agrarian sewage in the Olzinelles valley that could cause water quality to deteriorate; the industrial pollution in the river Tordera has been reduced by the construction of sewage treatment plants and other administrative measures; these species had no market value in the study area, and fishing and capturing were occasional, making it unlikely that negative effects on their populations resulted from these activities.
[32] Climate change impacts are being observed globally, with certain regions that are already water scarce having higher levels of vulnerability.
As a result of its geographic and socio-economic characteristics, Spain is regarded as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the European Union.
Causes of desertification include forest fires, loss of vegetation cover, erosion, and salinization processes.
The Spanish agriculture sector has already implemented several measures aimed at reducing emissions, improving knowledge about them, and introducing energy efficiency criteria in modernizing irrigation systems.
[33] Climate change will have significant impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, and biodiversity, resulting in alterations to Spain's characteristics, accentuating the existing desertification issues, reducing water availability, increasing costs of adaptation measures, and potentially causing future problems such as pests, invasive species, and reduced crop yields.
[3] Rising temperatures, ozone levels, and particulate matter concentrations, particularly in urban areas, have been found to increase heat stress, leading to higher risk of death from various health conditions including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, metabolic disorders, and kidney disease.
The organization is also charged with meeting the new target of 27% renewable energy by 2030, the commitment the EU made at the Paris climate change conference in 2016 in order to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).
This support and promotion of renewable energies by Spain and the EU has reduced their costs, especially solar and wind power, turning them into competitive technologies as in some cases they are cheaper than fossil fuels.
[6] The contribution of renewable energies to the electricity generation mix approaches 40%,[6] as Spain has about 3000 hours of sunlight per year, making it one of the sunniest countries in Europe and one with large solar resources.
Spain has the largest installed capacity of solar thermal power in the world, with commercial operation in all four currently available technologies: tower, enclosed-parabolic trough, fresnel and dishes.
[38] In order to solve this problem, policies have been established at the national level, with a special focus on trucks, private cars, and buses, which account for the largest share of road transport consumption.
For the promotion of these electric vehicles, and more sustainable transport in general, the Spanish government has launched the MOVES III Plan.
[41] In 2021, the Spanish parliament approved a law on climate change and energy transition that calls for a 23% reduction of emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and carbon neutrality by 2050.
[7] The law also prohibits authorisations for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, instead establishing direct subsidies for biogas, biomethane, hydrogen and other renewable fuels.
By 2040 new commercial vehicles must all be zero emission and by 2023[needs update] all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, and all islands, must implement their own climate change mitigation measures.
[7] Law 7/2021 on climate change and energy transition establishes 7 main objectives:[43] Spain signed the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016 and ratified it on 12 June 2017.
The summit is confirmation of the Paris agreement and will be useful to provide global decision-makers with the opportunity to send a signal of strength for our common future.
A slogan used by a wide range of civil society groups including climate activists, workers' unions and fair housing movements is that "without sustainability there is no social justice.
"[47] Spanish environmental activists have spoken out against plans to expand airports in Madrid and Barcelona; the organisers of these protests have united around a platform called Zeroport.
