The Government brings to public consultation the rule on the committee of experts on climate change

The objective is to advise and monitor compliance with the energy and climate policy.

The Government has opened the deadline to submit allegations to the royal decree that regulates the creation, composition and operation of the committee of specialists in climate change, a policy included in the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition that today celebrates one year.

The objective of the Committee of Experts on Climate Change and Energy Transition is to advise and supervise compliance with the energy and climate policy, but it will not have direct effects on it, according to the royal decree, which may undergo modifications after the process of citizen participation, which will end on June 3.

The group will be equal in gender and will be composed of 25 specialists in disciplines related to global warming and the energy transition, who must have at least 10 years of professional experience in these matters, the text specifies.

The term of office of the committee – made up of eight people, initially chosen at random from among the members – may remain for a maximum of six years, with a partial biennial renewal to ensure that none of them exceeds that limit.

The president of the group, who will be responsible for coordinating the functions -among others, the preparation of annual reports to send them to the Congress of Deputies-, may remain in that position for up to three years, although he will have the possibility of leading another three.

The Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Commission of the Congress, the Ecological Transition Commission of the Senate, the National Climate Council, the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities may each propose up to five members of the Committee.

The group will work with the technical and management support of the CSIC, and will be financed “in accordance with the budgetary availabilities” of the Ministry for the Economic Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco), which clarifies that “it will not mean an increase in public spending”.

“A modern and innovative governance, in line with what the countries of our closest environment are doing with ambitious laws, provides transparency, strengthens and gives legitimacy to the government’s decisions on climate and energy transition and gives visibility to the actions that are carried out,” Miteco argues in the letter.

In addition, it notes that the committee will act “independently of any business or commercial interest,” and that “neither the chairman nor the members of the Committee may request or accept instructions from any public or private entity.”

However, the ministry of Teresa Ribera does not clarify, for the moment, how this independence of specialists will be guaranteed with respect to sectors that may influence the conclusions of the group of experts on climate change.

Source: The Energy Newspaper