Spain launches the International Alliance for Drought Resilience and reiterates its absolute commitment to the agenda against the climate emergency

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has participated in the first day of the Summit of Leaders of the 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), held in the Egyptian town of Sharm el Sheikh.

The fact that the Conference is taking place in Egypt motivates it to be designated as ‘the African COP’, with numerous initiatives aimed at increasing Africa’s resilience and adaptation to the impact of the climate emergency, as well as ensuring the necessary financing to face the transition and make progress in increasing global climate ambition. Spain has arrived at COP27 committed to the African continent.

On the sidelines of the Conference, Pedro Sánchez held bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Najla Bouden, and with HM the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.

Climate commitment and ambition

In the face of the climate emergency, maintaining a political and social position of “indifference does not admit acquittal before the court of posterity”, warned President Pedro Sánchez during his speech at the Plenary of the Conference, in which he was accompanied by the third vice president of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera.

“Disasters such as the one experienced by the Doñana wetland, a sanctuary of unique biodiversity of its kind, are not acceptable, neither because of indifference nor carelessness. Doñana is a place where, in addition to local pressures, the impact of unprecedented extreme droughts, salinization of aquifers and changes in the coastline are added. The combination of all these factors threatens its very existence. Only a maximum political commitment at all levels will be able to respond to all these challenges,” the president stressed.

He has also insisted that indifference is born of the conscious decision to refuse to look, in the erroneous belief that looking away makes us immune to the imminence of the devastation caused by climate disruption. Faced with this attitude, however, Spain has chosen absolute commitment and ambition in the agenda to fight the climate emergency.

International Drought Resilience Alliance and financial commitments

President Sánchez presented the launch of the International Drought Resilience Alliance, an initiative led by Spain together with Senegal and with the support of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Spain will contribute 5 million euros to start operating.

In the same vein, our country has committed 3 million euros to the Systematic Observation Mechanism of the World Meteorological Organization, an initiative promoted by the Secretary General of the United Nations.

It will also contribute €2 million to the Santiago Network, and our contribution to the Adaptation Fund will be reinforced by an additional €20 million.

Just transition

Pedro Sánchez has participated in one of the round tables dedicated to the just energy transition, an area in which Spain is considered a model for many countries.

In 2019, the Government of Spain approved the Just Transition Strategy to structure the process of closing the remaining coal mines and coal-fired power plants. The government is dedicating €800 million to just transition zones. In the last two years, almost 700 people have contributed to the participatory process to define the Just Transition Agreements.

“Green shipping challenge”

Likewise, the President of the Government has participated in the act of the ‘Green Shipping Challenge’, convened by the special envoy for the climate of the United States, John Kerry, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Garhr Store.

The initiative aims to mobilize the shipping sector – ports, carriers, cargo owners and others in the shipping value chain – on the path of greenhouse gas emission mitigation to align with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5ºC.

In this sense, the Government of Spain and the multinational Maersk have formed a collaboration protocol to implement the large-scale production of zero-emission fuels for their ships. The project will generate up to 2 million tons of e-methanol in 2030 from green hydrogen from renewable energy plants in Spain.

Source: La Moncloa