Spain passes climate bill roadmap to carbon neutrality

Spain's congress has approved the country's climate change and energy transition bill, a roadmap to carbon neutrality in 2050 that includes targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make its power mix 74pc renewable by 2030.

The bill proposed by ruling coalition leader Spain's Socialist party was approved with a comfortable majority yesterday in a parliamentary commission with the support of regional parties, left-wing coalition partners and the centre-right Ciudadanos party.

Spain's main centre-right Peoples' Party and recently formed Mas Pais both abstained while the far-right Vox party opposed the bill.

The 2030 targets set out in the bill approved yesterday have been brought into line with the national energy and climate plan (NECP) Spain lodged with the EU last year, after a previous draft of the bill relaxed the objective of renewables penetration in power generation to 70pc and reduced projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 20pc.

The goals laid out in the bill are now in line with the NECP's target to increase renewables generation capacity by 59GW to 2030 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 23pc from 1990 levels.

The proposed legislation also bans new concessions for the exploration or extraction of fossil fuels or radioactive material and limits state aid for projects using these materials, while setting the phase-out of fossil fuels use in light vehicles for 2040 and establishing obligations for filling stations to install charging points over the next three years, among other measures.

The broad range of support for the bill, achieved through a series of compromise amendments with the parties, together with its status as an urgent procedure, suggests that Spain's upper house or senate could approve the bill and enact it into law by May.

By Jonathan Gleave