France and Spain strengthen their cooperation to promote a green and equitable energy transition and renew international ambition in favor of biodiversity and the oceans

Teresa Ribera has participated by videoconference in the XXVI Bilateral Summit between Spain and France, which was held in the town of Montauban, where the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, attended. Ribera held a meeting with the French Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, from which a joint declaration has emerged in which both countries commit to cooperate to reaffirm the climate leadership of the European Union, move towards climate neutrality in 2050, promote a green, equitable and ambitious energy transition and renew the international ambition in favor of biodiversity, the prevention of desertification and the conservation of the oceans.

With this objective of responding to the great challenges represented by the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity and the oceans, France and Spain reaffirm their firm determination to act jointly in their bilateral relationship, at community level, and at the global level.

Likewise, both countries have signed a memorandum of understanding on sustainable fuels in the aviation sector and have addressed the commitment reached last week by the electricity system operators in Spain and France (REE and TEN) to accelerate cooperation on interconnections.

Strengthening the global response to climate change

In the declaration, France and Spain underline the many priorities they share, such as the implementation of the European Green Deal, for the successful ecological and climate transition that the European Union has committed to accelerate. In this regard, both countries express their support for the rapid implementation of all the provisions of the Paris Agreement and welcome the return of the United States to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change and continue efforts to limit the increase in average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius with respect to pre-industrial levels, as recommended by science.

The paper highlights the intrinsic links between climate change, biodiversity loss, the advance of desertification and its consequences on human health. In this regard, France and Spain recall their commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 and plan to recall in each international forum the need to increase climate ambition within the framework of the Paris Agreement.

Likewise, environmental ambition, the importance of the fight against imported deforestation, the principles of the circular economy and the reduction of the carbon footprint of our economies are priorities shared by both countries. In this sense, Vice President Ribera has conveyed to Minister Pompili the need to promote the strengthening of regulatory frameworks in international trade and global value chains, subject to compliance with high environmental standards and the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

In this regard, the next Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to be held in September in Marseille, will be a key occasion to maintain and strengthen the international biodiversity agenda, especially in the context of the current ongoing discussions for the adoption of a new global framework on biodiversity for the post-2020 period, planned at the next COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Vice-President Teresa Ribera has conveyed to Minister Pompili that Spain is in full willingness to support and collaborate with France to contribute to the success of this important event, in line with the good collaboration and support that France and Spain have given each other during the period of presentation of proposals for motions for this Congress.

Sustainability in fuel production

Likewise, at this meeting, a memorandum of understanding on sustainable fuels in the aviation sector has been signed jointly with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. The ultimate objective is to facilitate the promotion of initiatives and industrial consortia for the joint supply of sustainable aviation fuels in both countries and other markets of the European Union.

To this end, it is envisaged to strengthen partnerships with the private sector, academic research entities and the promotion of coordination initiatives, including facilitating and supporting the exchange of actions and good practices between the Roadmap for Sustainable Aeronautical Biofuels in French Air Transport, and the Safe Mobility Strategy, sustainable and connected in Spain.

The memorandum places particular emphasis on the importance of achieving renewable energy targets and ensuring sustainability in fuel production, so that they do not have an impact on biodiversity, do not accentuate the risks of deforestation or competition with food crops and do not compromise European recycling and preparation for reuse targets.

Cooperation for interconnections

In addition, Vice-President Ribera and Minister Pompili addressed the commitment reached last week by the electricity system operators in Spain and France (REE and RTE) to accelerate cooperation on interconnections, so that the construction of the new submarine link through the Bay of Biscay is promoted and the objective progress of the projects of the Trans-Pyrenean interconnections is produced to achieve, at least 8,000 MW of exchange capacity from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Europe.

Source: La Moncloa