The acting Ombudsman, Francisco Fernández Marugán, believes it is “urgent” for Spain to pass a state act laying down “global, mutually agreed and binding terms on how to fight warming and how to get ready to face its consequences”.
Before the start of the Climate Summit, held in Madrid between 2-13 December, the Ombudsman pointed out that “the absence of state regulations on climate change hinders the achievement of effective commitments undertaken by the Public Administration regarding agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.
For the Ombudsman, “without a doubt, a transition towards a fossil fuel-free economy is one of the main challenges that public administrations will be facing in the next few years”.
Although rules have been passed in Spain to regulate the trade of greenhouse gas emission rights or to establish favourable conditions for the implementation of a sustainable economy, there is still no state act for the problem to be globally handled.
In the Ombudsman’s opinion, “this need should be covered as soon as possible”. Furthermore, he pointed out that “delays in the adoption of measures should not be allowed, nor should those already adopted be unjustifiably reversed, particularly when the UN has advised that for every year an increase in emissions is not stopped, more drastic and speedier restrictions will be necessary”.
Fernández Marugán has recalled that in Spain we are particularly exposed to phenomena as a consequence of climate change. Thus, he pointed out that over the last few years there are more droughts, forest fires are becoming more and more destructive, and “cold drop” episodes are becoming more aggressive.
This is why, after questioning whether this is the society we want for ourselves and our children and grandchildren, he has called upon the public powers to act and stop a dynamic that is “eroding our home whilst also threatening to definitively destroy it”.
Fair ecological transition
The Office has been insisting for years that “we need to move towards a different culture, which is able to reach a balance between environmental and economic values”. “Economic development must be linked to environmental protection”, Fernández Marugán remarked.
In his opinion, the fight against atmospheric pollution needs to be examined from a broader and widely encompassing perspective: the fight against climate change and its evolution towards a sustainable energy model.
Nevertheless, he also pointed out that such transition must be “equitable and supportive”. In his own words, “the consolidation of decisive and specific progress to significantly reduce such emissions needs to be juggled with the need for such transition costs not being exclusively or mainly charged to highly vulnerable social groups or underprivileged territories”.
