Pedro Sánchez announces that the Government will propose a great State Pact for the mitigation and adaptation to the Climate Emergency

Ourense

Pedro Sánchez visits the area affected by the fire in Villablino (León) (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, this Sunday visited areas affected by the fires in Ourense and León, and has announced that the Executive will propose a State Pact for the mitigation and adaptation to the Climate Emergency of the country. This pact "calls upon all public administrations", parliamentary groups, civil society as a whole, science, business, trade unions and, "in short, the country as a whole".

This is what he said in the statement he made after visiting the Operational Coordination Centre for Firefighting of Ourense and holding a meeting with the heads of the emergency and coordination devices. He was accompanied on this visit by the President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Government Delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco. Later, he also visited the area affected by the fire in Villablino (León), accompanied by the President of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández-Mañueco, the Minister for Home Affairs, and the Government Delegate in Castilla y León, Nicanor Sen.

"The response to the fire or fires ravaging Spain is there. Let's give it. Fires will be extinguished. The reconstruction of all the affected areas will be tackled, but I believe that we also need to think in depth, a strategy that anticipates a better response, one that guarantees more security for our fellow citizens in the face of the worsening and acceleration of the effects of the climate emergency in our country," which requires a "great State pact," he explained. In this respect, he pointed out that the Government is already going to work to be able to have the bases of the State Pact in September, which, he said, should leave the climate emergency "out of the partisan struggle and ideological issues" to focus on "scientific evidence and act accordingly."

He also detailed that this Pact will serve to offer, for example, public servants "all the capabilities, not only when the fire breaks out, but also before, so that they can respond much more effectively and, of course, with many more guarantees." "We are all one state; we are a composite state. Each administration has its responsibilities and we all logically have to respond to these responsibilities in a coordinated, unitary manner and in the same direction," so that "once and for all, between us all, we can resize all the policies that affect the climate emergency in order to respond more effectively," following experiences such as the La Palma volcano or the DANA in Valencia.

The proposal of the State Pact comes after the warnings made by science "for a long time" in the face of a climate emergency that "is devastating the world at an increasingly faster, more serious and more frequent rate, especially in places like the Iberian Peninsula," according to Pedro Sánchez, who pointed out that the Government of Spain declared a climate emergency throughout Spain in 2020, and since then resources have been increased in fire prevention and firefighting.

All resources available for firefighting and reconstruction

In particular, he highlighted the growing investment in prevention and extinguishing, 16% more on average, with increases of 35% in prevention and 40% in extinguishing. In addition, the resources of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) have been increased by 50% and the equipment used to extinguish fires and other natural disasters has been increased by more than 250%.

He also guaranteed the commitment of the Civil Protection System at national level to provide "all the necessary resources" to contain and extinguish the fires, and for reconstruction, for which he advocated working "hand in hand" between administrations. In this regard, he announced the deployment of 500 additional troops from the army. The Executive is putting all the resources of the General State Administration in the hands of the autonomous communities, which are competent in firefighting matters.

In his statement, he told the Galician people that the General State Administration and the Government of Spain will do "everything and more" so that they can "recover the normality of their lives as soon as possible", making all the resources available to the Xunta de Galicia and tackle the task of reconstruction. Thus, once the fires are extinguished, the Government Delegation and the provincial sub-delegations will work on the evaluation and anticipation of resources which the Government of Spain will give to affected citizens for reconstruction, as has happened on previous occasions.

Condolences, prudence and recognition of public servants

On behalf of the Government of Spain, he expressed his condolences for the victims of the fires ravaging the Iberian Peninsula and his "solidarity and empathy" with the injured and the affected citizens, while at the same time highlighting the "professionalism, skill and dedication" of the public servants in the many emergency services deployed throughout the country.

However, he stressed that Spain is going through "very complex days" in which the weather "is not helping", so he asked the public to "be very attentive to what the institutions, professionals and technicians tell us" and to be "as cautious as possible." "We have to save and protect lives; any caution is welcome and will always be in short supply in these critical hours," he stressed.

The President of the Government of Spain also emphasised that the people who have caused the fires "must be brought to justice and there can be no impunity," something guaranteed through the State Law Enforcement Forces and Agencies, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Non official translation