Main novelties of the Regional Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition of Navarre. By (*) Irene Mataró Villacampa (Terraqui)

The Regional Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition of Navarre, which aims to provide the Autonomous Community of Navarre with a regulatory, institutional and instrumental framework for climate action and the energy transition, is the most recently approved specific regulation on climate change in Spain.

Other Autonomous Communities have already approved regional laws on climate change and have done so taking into account the minimum standards set at the state and EU level. However, some communities have gone beyond these minimums and have generated stricter and more exhaustive regional regulations on climate change. This article analyzes the content of the Navarrese Provincial Law and highlights some of the aspects that it regulates beyond the minimums set by the state climate regulations and / or in a differentiated way with respect to the rest of the regional climate regulations.

1. Context
On April 1, 2022, the Provincial Law 4/2022, of March 22, on Climate Change and Energy Transition (published in the BOE on April 19, 2022), was published in the Official Gazette of Navarra.

The norm was approved in the Parliament of Navarre with the unanimous support of all the groups and supposes the alignment of the Autonomous Community of Navarre with the climate commitments assumed by the Spanish State and, in general, by the international community in relation to climate change and the energy transition.

The regulation is also approved in accordance with the line that Navarre had already been following in terms of its climate commitments. Thus, on December 6, 2015, the Government of Navarre, together with more than 100 regions around the world, signed the initiative called The Under2Mou Network, assuming the commitment to reduce emissions so that by 2050 they are between 80% and 95% below the levels of 1990 and obliging itself to the annual provision of information on policies, measurements and quantification of greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the commitment made. Likewise, this Autonomous Community approved, by means of an Agreement of the Government of Navarra of January 24, 2018, its Navarra Climate Change Roadmap (KLINa), a strategy that includes and aligns all sectoral policies and incorporates international and European commitments on climate change and that sets as a mitigation objective to achieve a reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions of at least 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, compared to 2005, and as an adaptation objective that Navarre be a sustainable and resilient territory. In 2018, the Navarra Horizon 2030 Energy Plan was also approved, which sets out the objectives and lines of action on the necessary energy transition.

The approved Regional Law on Climate Change aims to provide Navarre with a regulatory, institutional and instrumental framework for climate action and the transition to an energy model with a low-carbon economy, based on energy efficiency and renewable energies. It is also the first specific regulation on climate matters approved in Navarre, which provides for measures in terms of adaptation and mitigation of climate change, following in the footsteps of some Autonomous Communities that have already provided themselves with this own legal framework, such as Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia. Since the approval of the State Law (Law 7/2021, of May 20, on climate change and energy transition) the regional regulations that are approved must adhere to the content that this framework regulation provides, being able, of course, to improve the minimums by this provision.

Both the regional strategies and the regional climate laws, this being also the case of Navarre, have been approved taking into account the minimum standards set at the state and EU level. Some communities, as is the case of Catalonia with its 2017 climate change law, have gone beyond these minimums and have generated stricter regional regulations on climate change. In this article we will see what is the content of the Navarrese Provincial Law and what aspects it regulates beyond the minimums set by the state climate regulations or in a differentiated way with respect to the other autonomous laws on climate, if so.

2. Object and structure

The object of the Act is specified in Article 1 thereof. In particular, the Law “aims to establish a regulatory, institutional and instrumental framework to concretize in the Autonomous Community of Navarre its contribution to the commitment to sustainability and the fight against climate change, facilitating the transition to a new socioeconomic and energy model with a low carbon economy, based on efficiency and renewable energies so as to guarantee the rational and solidary use of natural resources, and adapted to climate effects”.

In accordance with the aforementioned article, the approval of this Law seeks to achieve climate neutrality in Navarre by 2050 and for this, the Autonomous Community of Navarre assumes the commitment to achieve the objectives established in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 30, 2021, which establishes as a binding objective the reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Thus, the Navarrese Provincial Law adheres to the objective set in the European framework regulations on climate (European Climate Law) and does not establish a more ambitious reduction objective.

The rule consists of ninety-four articles, organized into six titles, fourteen additional provisions, one derogatory provision and eight final provisions. The titles are organized with the following structure:

• Title I: General provisions. In addition to the object and purposes of the standard (Article 1), it provides for the guiding principles that should guide climate action and the Energy Transition of Navarre (Article 2), as well as definitions for the purposes of the Law (Article 3). It includes an article on gender mainstreaming in climate change and energy transition aspects (Article 4).
• Title II: Governance and Planning. This title specifies how the climate governance system should be, which must guarantee the collaboration of all public and private sectors in the application and monitoring of the foral law and its principles (articles 5 to 8). Among others, this title also defines the planning and implementation and evaluation instruments (Articles 9 and 10), regulates the creation of the Climate Change Office of Navarra (Article 11), as well as the carbon budgets (Article 12) or the creation of the Climate Fund (Article 13), which will be the financial instrument of plans and initiatives. Tools are foreseen for the analysis and implementation of climate planning, such as the annual energy balance of Navarre (Article 14) and the creation of the Navarrese Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change (Article 15). This title also regulates the inclusion of the climate perspective in various areas of governance and planning (Articles 16 to 19), public information, environmental education and the promotion of research and innovation (Articles 20 to 25).
• Title III: Climate change mitigation and new energy model. To achieve the objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, measures are established to promote renewable energies (Articles 26 to 37), such as the promotion of cooperatives or consumer groups and local producers, obligations for energy distribution companies or wood energy. In addition, this title, and in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, regulates the energy efficiency of buildings and outdoor lighting (Articles 38 to 43), sustainable mobility -regulating aspects such as sustainable transport plans of companies and institutions- (Articles 44 to 52), or the mitigation of emissions in the primary and waste sectors (Articles 53 to 57). Likewise, articles 58 to 60 regulate the instruments for mitigation, which are the calculation of the carbon footprint and the energy reduction and carbon footprint plans, the carbon footprint registry, and the carbon footprint in public procurement.
• Title IV: Adaptation to climate change. Adaptation measures and criteria are foreseen in different areas and sectoral plans for adaptation to climate change are regulated (Articles 61 to 65). It also regulates adaptation in relation to water resources and hydrological planning (Articles 66 and 67), energy poverty (Article 68) and tourism (Article 70) and health (Article 69), with special mention to vulnerable social sectors. In relation to the above, it is established that the Provincial Law and its regulatory development must address energy poverty and ensure that its application establishes compensation mechanisms for the most vulnerable sectors of the population.
• Title V: Sustainable management. This title regulates guidelines and obligations for the exemplary action of public administrations with commitments in the field of building, mobility, public procurement, energy efficiency and renewable energies (articles 71 to 80). Instruments are incorporated in the field of public administration, such as inventory and carbon footprint, energy audits or energy action plans for the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels.
• Title VI: Inspection, monitoring and sanctioning regime. For the correct application of the standard and its principles, this title regulates aspects such as inspection and monitoring, competences, the duty of collaboration and precautionary measures (articles 81 to 85). It also provides for a system of penalties (articles 86 to 94).
• Additional provisions, derogatory provision and final provisions. By virtue of the repeal provision, Provincial Law 10/2005, of 9 November, on the management of lighting for the protection of the environment and Provincial Decree 199/2007, of 17 September, approving the Regulations for the development of Provincial Law 10/2005, of 9 November, on the management of lighting for the protection of the environment, are expressly repealed.
• Annex: Glossary of terms and definitions.

The Provincial Law provides for the creation of environmental taxation tools but does not specify them, leaving their formulation for the future. In particular, by virtue of the second additional provision, it is foreseen that the Government of Navarre, within two years of the approval of the Provincial Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, through the Department of Economy and Finance, will send to the Parliament of Navarre a draft or several draft regional laws that include the environmental taxation measures that are considered most appropriate for the best fulfillment of the objectives of this foral law. During the processing of the Regional Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, the parliamentary groups agreed to postpone and leave it to the Department of Economy of the Government of Navarre to elaborate fiscal measures through the creation of a technical support group in charge of elaborating these tax regulations, which must be composed of experts in tax matters, environmental and energy and that must be constituted within three months of the entry into force of the Provincial Law (as provided for in section 4, of the second additional provision).

3. Main news

The standard, approved this April 2022, constitutes the most recent specific regulations on climate change in the Spanish State and, consequently, its articles should contain novel provisions adapted to the current state of the climate problem. In this sense, it should be borne in mind that the first climate law enacted in the State, the Catalan law, dates from 2017, that is, currently almost 5 years ago it was approved.

Among the different provisions of the Navarrese standard, we can highlight some that could be described as novel because they set a precedent with respect to the rest of the specific regulations existing in Spain in the field of climate change. Among these, the ones that we consider most remarkable are the following:

• Photovoltaic systems (Article 39). The Law exhaustively regulates the installation of photovoltaic systems, establishing, among other issues, the obligation to install them on the roofs of buildings or in surface parking spaces linked to buildings for endowment, commercial, tertiary and industrial use of new construction. Thus, buildings for residential, industrial, commercial and endowment use of more than 500 m² of roof measured in horizontal projection of new construction, those that are subject to integral rehabilitation or change of use, or those that reform their roof, must install individual photovoltaic systems or shared use in at least 35% of their surface of occupation in plant in the south orientations, southeast and southwest. Likewise, at least 20% of the surface parking spaces linked to the buildings of endowment, commercial, tertiary and industrial use of new construction, must be covered with photovoltaic solar generation panels. It is also foreseen the obligation to install these systems in pre-existing buildings in certain cases when they have at least 50% of the surface of occupation in plant built for endowment, commercial or industrial use.

This issue is not regulated in the Catalan Law on Climate Change and neither in the Andalusian Law. Although the Balearic Law contemplates a similar regulation in its article 53, the truth is that it is not as ambitious and exhaustive as the Navarrese one.

• Gender perspective on climate change and energy transition (Article 4). The Law contains a specific article on the integration of the gender perspective in decision-making and in the elaboration of climate policies. In addition, the standard integrates the gender perspective in other precepts of the standard, such as strategic planning instruments on climate change and energy (article 9) or in the promotion of sustainable mobility (article 44), among others.
This is a novelty because in the rest of the regional climate regulations the gender perspective is not as relevant as in the case of the Provincial Law. Thus, the Catalan regulations do not mention this issue and the Balearic regulations only in terms of the energy transition and climate change plans that are formulated within two years of the publication of the Balearic climate standard; it does, although more briefly than the Foral Law, the Andalusian Law on Climate Change. In the State Law, the gender perspective is only contemplated in relation to the Just Transition Strategy.
• Obligations of electricity distributors (Article 29). The standard provides for electricity distribution companies the obligation to provide information to the Autonomous Community on consumption with data at the aggregate level of energy products before June 1 of each year.
The Andalusian Law establishes a very similar obligation, the Catalan Law does not specify this obligation and the Balearic Law raises the obligation to establish adequate protocols to simplify and expedite the execution of renewable energy and self-consumption projects and their connection to energy networks; this last issue has not been included in the Navarrese Provincial Law. The State Law provides that companies of this type must develop and present a decarbonization strategy in relation to their scope of action.
• Hydroelectric power (Article 30). Hydroelectric energy is regulated by establishing that, on the one hand, the department with competence in energy matters will promote the continuity of the activity of those existing hydroelectric plants linked to reservoirs for irrigation, mouth water and water for industrial use at the expiration of its concession, and that, on the other hand, the installation of new plants in those existing and newly built channels and reservoirs for the indicated uses will be encouraged. In addition, it is expected that the Government of Navarre will promote the implementation of reversible hydroelectric jumps in existing water reservoir infrastructures.
The rest of the regional laws on climate matters do not refer to this issue, but it is contemplated in the State Law that provides, among other issues, that the new concessions that are granted will have as a priority the support for the integration of renewable technologies in the electricity system and that hydroelectric plants are reversible.
• Prohibition of the use of fossil fuels on agricultural holdings (Article 32). As of January 1, 2030, the thermal demands of agricultural holdings (livestock of more than 500 units of livestock and greenhouses of more than 3,000 m2), must be fully supplied by renewable sources or sources of waste heat from other facilities.
This is a novel prohibition that is not foreseen in any other regional climate regulation or in the State Law.
• Thermal systems of buildings for residential and tertiary use (Article 38). Under this precept, as of June 30, 2027, in buildings for residential and tertiary use of new construction, thermal systems supplied with fossil fuels will not be installed and, also, the supply of diesel is prohibited if these buildings are located in population entities where there is an infrastructure for the distribution of piped natural gas. In addition, since the entry into force of the Provincial Law, the air conditioning of open spaces will only be allowed if the total energy consumption of the activity in which they are integrated is carried out through self-consumption or the contracting of certified renewable energy and the maintenance in a position of continuous opening of the access doors to premises of tertiary use that have artificial air conditioning is prohibited.
These prohibitions generally imply greater specificity compared to other regulations on climate change.
• Energy efficiency in outdoor lighting (Article 43). The Provincial Law contains a specific article on outdoor lighting, which establishes that the public administrations of Navarre, in the areas of their respective competences, will have public lighting that minimizes energy consumption. Among other issues, the article establishes the criteria on the basis of which new outdoor lighting installations, both public and private, must be designed and installed, as well as that all ornamental, advertising and commercial lighting must remain off during the night period in which the activity decreases, with some exceptions. Likewise, it is established that before January 1, 2030, all those special facilities such as security, reinforcement of pedestrian crossings, intersections on interurban roads that require it and access to highways or highways that require it must have presence detection devices through the most reliable system available on the market, including manual drive devices.
Although the climatic regulations of the Balearic Islands and Andalusia regulate the optimization of public lighting systems and their energy consumption, the Provincial Law makes more specific provisions.
• Plan to reduce emissions in the urban distribution of goods (Article 46). It is established that, within two years, municipalities with a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants must develop a plan to reduce emissions in the urban distribution of goods, through which actions aimed at distribution with electric vehicles or zero emissions are promoted as a priority.
This provision for the obligation to draw up plans for the reduction of emissions in the field of urban distribution of goods had not yet been foreseen in any of the specific climate regulations.
• Soil nutrition (Article 56). The nutrition of the soils is regulated, establishing that the use of fertilizers and other materials that directly or indirectly provide nutrients or other favorable characteristics to the soil must be carried out in such a way that the amount of nutrients provided conforms to the strict needs of the crop, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of its activity and the pollution that could cause in the groundwater and in the atmosphere.
Although the other specific regulations on climate matters foresee the need to protect soils because they are an important carbon sink, the concretion of the Provincial Law on their nutrition is novel.

4. Deadlines for the development of the measures contained in the Law

The further development of the Act is subject to certain time limits. These deadlines, counted from the entry into force of the legal text on April 2, 2022 and established in the legal text for this purpose, are the following:
• Within 6 months of entry into force, the Regional Executive must send to Parliament a draft regional law regulating the Energy Transition Agency of Navarre.
• In 1 year, the areas excluded for the installation of renewables must be delimited and mapped.
• In 1 year there must be to calculate the carbon footprint of the Government of Navarre.
• In 1 year the Government of Navarre must approve a regional decree for the creation of the Social Council on climate change policy and energy transition, so that within fifteen months it is constituted.
• Before June 30, 2023, the Green Public Procurement Plan will be approved.
• On April 2, 2024, the sanctioning regime of the Provincial Law, provided for in Chapter II of Title IV, will enter into force.
• In 2 years, the Sustainable Forest Management Plan for the promotion of the use of wood and forest biomass should be drafted.
• In 2 years the Government of Navarre, through the Department of Economy and Finance, will send to the Parliament of Navarre a draft or several draft regional laws that include the environmental taxation measures that are considered most appropriate for the best fulfillment of the objectives of this regional law.
• Before January 1, 2025, all buildings for residential or tertiary use in Navarra must have the energy qualification certificate.
• From 2025, all newly built buildings must incorporate electricity self-consumption proportional to their roof area, orientation and foreseeable consumption.
• From 2025, 25% of the electricity consumed by the administration of the Autonomous Community, local entities and their public bodies must be self-produced.
• In 4 years, municipalities must approve an outdoor lighting plan in accordance with the objectives of the Law.
• From June 2027, all newly built buildings will have to install heating or hot water systems based on renewable energies that contribute 50% of the demand.
• As of June 2027, the supply of diesel to residential and tertiary buildings located in population entities where there is a channeled natural gas distribution infrastructure will be prohibited.
• By 2030, at least 25% of agricultural land will be managed through organic farming.

5. Conclusions

The Provincial Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition establishes some ambitious aspects when compared to the state and regional regulations existing to date.
It also specifies deadlines for the development of plans and regulations and for the future implementation of other mitigation and adaptation measures. However, the setting of these deadlines can also be seen as a negative point of the rule, since they involve postponing certain essential obligations, some of which are delayed until 2027, that is, 5 years from the entry into force of the standard. This is the case with the prohibition on installing thermal systems supplied with fossil fuels in newly constructed buildings for residential and tertiary use or the obligation for all new or rehabilitated buildings to install renewable sources sufficient to cover at least 50% of their energy needs.
Significantly, the standard refers to the EU’s binding climate targets: achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. However, the regulation postpones the formulation of objectives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy supply from renewable energies that are quantifiable for Navarre, which will be set through the strategic planning that is formulated after the entry into force of the Provincial Law.
Although the regulation that the Provincial Law makes in relation to the prohibition of the use of fossil fuels in agricultural holdings is innovative, no objectives are set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the primary sector; one issue, that of emissions from the primary sector, which is particularly problematic in Navarre, in particular, with regard to methane emissions.

It will also be necessary to look at the fiscal instruments that are finally approved, in order to assess their sufficiency and effectiveness.

Despite the criticisms that can inevitably be directed at this norm, the truth is that climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity and, in contrast to absolute inactivity, any contribution to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change is a great opportunity and should be celebrated, even if in various aspects progress must continue, in particular, when it comes to realizing all the commitments that are assumed with the adoption of this standard.

Source: EFE Green