• Climate change official sees new law in 2018, backs greater EU restrictions
• More renewable energy possible, pending regional, bilateral electricity accords
The director general of Spain’s office on climate change, Valvanera Ulargui, has told the Spanish news agency EFE that with support from the country’s political parties the Spanish government could pass a new Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition by next year in compliance with its commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change, subscribed by Spain in April 2016 and ratified by the government in early February.
During the COP23 climate summit currently taking place in Bonn, Ulargui told EFE that Spain also supports the European Commission’s bid to raise by 2030 the commitment of EU member countries to a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions, 27 percent renewable energy generation and increases in energy efficiency. Spain’s ability to meet the increase in renewables, particularly solar energy production, she said, may depend on whether a projected increase of 15 percent in electricity interonnections with France are met and on how well the single electricity market for Europe functions.
Meanwhile, the Socialist party mayor of Seville and president of the Spanish Network of Cities for the Climate, Juan Espadas, has called in Bonn for leadership by local governments in the creation of a global network of cities to positively impact the creation of policies against climate change and their successful implementation by national governments worldwide.
Speaking during the Bonn summit to a gathering of local officials from around the globe, Espadas said the work of local communities and governments is key to effectively implementing the policies on energy and climate change created by national governments and that more local government input needs to be incorporated into strategic decision-making on issues related to climate change.
► Read More in Spanish at EFEVerde and Europa Press …
