Pedro Sánchez announces more funds to combat climate change and the risk posed by its deniers

Belém (Brazil) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Friday an additional contribution of 45 million euros from Spain to the fight against climate change and offered his country's support to advance in this area and address the risk posed by climate change deniers.

Sánchez made this announcement in his speech before the plenary session of the leaders' meeting convened prior to the COP30 climate summit to be held in the Brazilian town of Belém.

The head of the Executive began his speech by asserting that climate change kills, citing as an example the storm that hit the Valencian Community a year ago and caused 237 deaths.

This was compounded by the wave of forest fires that affected Spain and other countries last summer.

Climate emergency: science, not ideology

All of this led him to insist that the climate emergency is killing people, and that this is not ideology, but science.

Therefore, he regretted that there are still those who deny or downplay its impact, although he acknowledged that "there is no empirical evidence, however overwhelming, capable of changing the opinion of someone who has chosen to turn a blind eye."

In response, he addressed those who do believe in science and "have the moral courage to fight the battle," those who "do not give up or allow themselves to be regulated by political calculation or fear of being devoured by denialist forces."

"To all of them I want to say that they can count on Spain. And we do so out of moral conviction, because we do honor our word, but above all because we believe in the green transition as an engine of growth and transformation," he added.

Sánchez recalled that since he became Prime Minister in 2018, Spain has increased its installed capacity of solar and wind energy by 140% and has exponentially multiplied its self-consumption capacity.

Economic growth with fewer emissions

Therefore, he considered that the Spanish economy is one of the fastest growing in all OECD countries, while demonstrating that it is possible to do so while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He explained that it is about "addressing the climate debate not from fear, but from hope, not appealing to sacrifices and renunciations, but to the opportunities offered by the green economy."

"Therefore, we are not taking a defensive position, but rather going on the offensive, because we know that our model is better and that it also works better," he added.

In this way, he believes that the necessary support can be gained to wage the battle against the enemy that is the climate emergency, which he said not only kills, but also impoverishes.

Thus, he recalled that the European Union has lost 44.5 billion euros annually as a result.

After urging the other leaders not to give up, he considered that the Paris Agreement sets the way but more needs to be done than has been done so far, and guaranteed Spain's support for the European Union to continue leading that ambition.

"Spain is fulfilling its commitments," assured the Prime Minister, who provided data such as the 1.7 billion euros allocated last year to international climate finance.

Furthermore, he assured that Spain will continue working with other countries to tax premium class flights and private jets because he believes it is only fair that those who have more and pollute more should pay their fair share.

"Today, while others are retreating, I want to reaffirm Spain's commitment to climate multilateralism, with new contributions," he said before the COP30 plenary.

It was then that he announced an additional contribution of 45 million euros from the Adaptation Fund, the Loss and Damage Response Fund, and the World Meteorological Organization's Systematic Observations Funding Facility.

Slowing the temperature increase

The Prime Minister stressed that the climate is much more than a statistic, and if decisive action is not taken to drastically reduce emissions, there is a real risk that, in the next decade, the temperature increase will exceed 2 degrees, with the devastating consequences that this would entail.

"Let's avoid this. Time is running out. Let's act together, instead of failing separately," the head of the Executive urged.

Following his address to the plenary session, Sánchez participated in a panel discussion organized in conjunction with the summit, which also addressed the need to decisively tackle the energy transition. EFEverde

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