Pedro Sánchez calls for action now to tackle the climate emergency: "It is a vital question, a question of State"

ICEX headquarters, Madrid

Group photo of the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, along with the participants in the event (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

Pedro Sánchez stressed that "the time has come to take action" in the face of the climate emergency, "a vital question, a question of State". For this reason, he announced the allocation of 54 million euros for the development of a new battery gigafactory in Valladolid,built by Inobat Iberia, which will generate 260 direct jobs and 500 indirect jobs, with a total investment of 700 million euros. The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the event 'Spain, vanguard of the green industry', held at the ICEX headquarters in Madrid.

Also speaking at the event were the Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, and the Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, as well as the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Minister for Health, Mónica García.

Pedro Sánchez also announced that the government will promote green public procurement through obligations and incentives, so that public procurement will include requirements for the purchase of products with zero or low carbon footprints, with the aim of making the public sector a driving force in the creation of green demand within domestic industry. "It is policies and actions like this that make our country a European benchmark in the ecological transition. And now, when others are hesitating, Spain will redouble its commitment to remain at the forefront," he said.

Spain joins the World Economic Forum's 'First Movers' coalition

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, during the meeting with the President of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

During the event, Spain joined the 'First Movers Coalition', a public-private initiative launched by the World Economic Forum at COP26 to accelerate the ecological transition and reduce the volume of carbon emissions in hard-to-abate sectors struggling with decarbonisation.

"Today Spain takes another step forward in its commitment to climate action and sustainable innovation. We do it as a country, with the determination and will to remain at the forefront of the ecological transition", said Pedro Sánchez, who explained that it comes hand in hand with "cutting-edge" and "brave" Spanish companies that are already part of the initiative, such as Egui, Iberdrola and Moeve, soon to be joined by Acciona, which "are committed to sustainability as a driver of growth, employment and competitiveness. He thanked them for their commitment and asked them to "be even more courageous and push to make the great national consensus we need a reality, because our lives depend on it". "They can count on the absolute commitment of the Government of Spain," he assured them.

State Pact to tackle the climate emergency

In his intervention, Pedro Sánchez recalled his call to reach a State Pact to tackle the climate emergency, "a broad agreement open to all institutions, companies, workers' representatives, political parties, science, the academic world and society as a whole". In this respect, he pointed out that the event shares the philosophy of this initiative in expressing a "long-term view and involvement in the face of our country's greatest challenge".

"Science keeps reminding us of the devastating impact of CO2 emissions on climate change. We are already suffering from it," insisted Pedro Sánchez, "especially here in Spain, one of the countries in the world most exposed to the threat". In this regard, he stressed that "neither the fires of this summer, nor the dana that devastated Valencia, or the Filomena that collapsed Madrid, are the result of chance or dark plots". "Our mountains have become a powder keg, the sea a pressure cooker and our cities an oven, even though some deny the evidence and others, incomprehensibly, remain silent. Climate change kills", he stressed, with 20,000 deaths in the last five years due to extreme temperatures, and "it also impoverishes: crops and harvests destroyed; infrastructures destroyed by the force of nature; potential impact on our tourism model and businesses that have to start from scratch, like the more than 40,000 SMEs affected by the dana". "Hopefully all political forces will listen carefully to the message because it is not only the sensible thing to do. Let us act across legislatures," he urged.

The case for a green transition

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the event | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Pedro Sánchez pointed out that Spain shares objectives with the First Movers coalition and two values that inspire its vision of the economy and the world: public-private cooperation and the defence of multilateralism in the face of challenges that do not understand borders, such as climate change. For this reason, in a context in which the European Green Deal is being questioned, he emphasised that "Spain defends the deal tooth and nail". "Our reasons for supporting the ecological transition are better than those of the naysayers for opposing it," he said, citing first and foremost the acceleration of economic modernisation. According to Sánchez, "for the first time in our history, we are in a position to lead a technological revolution", as the figures show: industry represents 15% of GDP, more than some of the most prosperous European economies, such as Belgium, the Netherlands or France, and manufacturing activity continues to expand, according to the latest GDP index.

Paradigm shift: Spain is growing without increasing emissions

"We have never before grown without increasing emissions. This is the paradigm shift," he celebrated. Spain is currently the fourth most sustainable large economy on the planet and in the last six years has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions linked to the electricity sector by 60%. It is also a leader in the deployment of renewable energies and is the European leader in organic farming by surface area. In order to continue to commit to decarbonisation and green industry, Pedro Sánchez announced the allocation of 54 million euros for the new battery gigafactory in Valladolid and the promotion of green public procurement.

The second motivation for going green is the need to strengthen open strategic autonomy. In this respect, he stressed that, thanks to the deployment of renewables, electricity in Spain is 30% cheaper than in the European Union. The third motivation is the decisive contribution of the green transition to the "extraordinary performance of the Spanish economy", in view of the growth above that of the advanced economies as a whole in 2023, 2024 and again in 2025, the upward revision of forecasts by international organisations and the record 22 million people in employment. "Spain is growing and inspiring confidence, and it is doing so at the forefront of the green industry, as a "First Mover", he added.

Non official translation