Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, participated yesterday in Dubai in the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), in which he urged to “include climate objectives at the center of economic and fiscal policies”, He announced a contribution of 20 million euros for the new Loss and Damage Fund and staged the alliance between the Spanish company CEPSA and the Dutch company C2X for the construction in Huelva of the largest green methanol plant in Europe and one of the five largest in the world.
At the beginning of the day in Dubai, Pedro Sánchez was received by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Seikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, and by the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres. In addition, the President of the Government held bilateral meetings with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to take stock of the negotiations on the Association Agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, and with the CEO of the powerful investment fund Mubadala, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, to discuss green and digital investments in Spain.
During his intervention at the High Level segment of COP28, Pedro Sánchez warned of the need to “include climate objectives at the heart of economic and fiscal policies, develop robust carbon markets, tackle debt problems and increase fiscal space for the most vulnerable countries.” He also announced that Spain will contribute 20 million euros to the new Loss and Damage Fund, a mechanism created to address the effects of natural disasters, especially on the most vulnerable groups, and that our country will allocate two million euros this year to the environmentally sustainable and socially responsible Amazon Siempre bonds project.
Sánchez also warned of the need to keep the increase in the planet’s average global temperature within the safety limit of 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, which means that “the peak of global emissions must reach the maximum in 2025, and these must fall sharply in the rest of the decade (Spain’s objective is to reduce them by 43% in 2030 and 60% in 2035)”. To this end, he stressed three “essential” measures: tripling renewable energy generation capacity by 2030, doubling energy efficiency targets this decade and putting an end to the production and consumption of fossil fuels for energy.
“Spain has already increased its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 56% and the target for renewable energy in electricity generation to 81%, with a goal of closing our last coal-fired power plant by 2025,” he said. “Our collective progress shows that we still have a chance to save the planet. but we have to raise our ambition, our commitment, and to achieve this I believe it is within humanity’s reach,” he concluded.
Pedro Sánchez also participated in the event on the carbon emissions market, held in the EU pavilion at Expo City Dubai and co-organized by Spain and the European Commission. During his participation in this meeting, which was also attended by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Government called on governments and entities to “design and implement effective carbon markets that help to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement for the benefit of the planet, economies and people”. He also warned of the need to invest financial resources to transform global development models and create enabling environments for financial and technological innovation and cooperation, while contributing to job creation and economic growth.
Agreement between Cepsa and C2X
At midday, the Chief Executive participated in the presentation ceremony of the agreement between Cepsa and C2X, held at the Spain pavilion of the Expo City of Dubai and in which he was accompanied by the Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera; the CEO of Cepsa, Maarten Wetselaar; and the CEO of C2X, Brian Davis. C2X is.
The agreement between Cepsa and C2X – an independent company whose majority shareholder is the international giant Maersk – foresees the construction of a plant in the port of Huelva and will make possible the production of 300,000 tons of green methanol that will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tons per year, according to Sánchez. It will also have a “significant economic impact on the region of Andalusia, as it will involve a joint investment of around 1,000 million euros in Huelva and the creation of 2,500 direct and indirect jobs”.
“This project will not only mean a significant reduction in CO2 emissions,” he continued. “Green methanol will also allow progress in the decarbonization of sectors that are difficult to reduce, such as maritime transport or the chemical industry”, and, therefore, “this is an important step forward towards a future free of fossil fuels”, he added. “Moreover, by guaranteeing clean, independent and affordable energy, the project contributes to the strategic autonomy and energy security of both Spain and the EU as a whole,” he stressed. “The Spanish government is fully committed to providing all the necessary public support to turn Spain into the European center of green hydrogen,” he assured.
Alliance against drought
Pedro Sánchez’s day continued with the event of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), a joint initiative of Spain and Senegal backed by the UN and created just one year ago, during COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh. In the course of this year, he said, IDRA has “managed to reactivate political support and raise international public awareness of the importance of improving resilience to drought” and has achieved the adhesion of sixty countries and organizations. He also highlighted, among its achievements, the construction of a common framework for action and involvement in “specific hot spots”, such as the Dry Corridor in Central America.
During this event, President Sánchez recalled Spain’s contribution of 225 million euros to the Green Climate Fund and 20 million euros to the Adaptation Fund and assured that the Government has committed to increase its climate finance targets by 50%, to 1,350 million euros per year, starting in 2025. In addition, he announced that the High Level Meeting National Policies on Drought + 10 will be held in Barcelona in September 2024.
