Spain and Portugal commit to mitigating the effects of climate change on the Iberian Peninsula

Eduardo González The Governments of Spain and Portugal have committed to strengthening the fight against the impact of climate change on the Iberian Peninsula, including the prevention of extreme events such as floods, fires, and heat waves, and have advocated for the need to expand and modernize energy interconnections with the rest of Europe. The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro, presided over the 36th Spanish-Portuguese Summit this Friday, March 6, held at the La Rábida Monastery in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva). At the conclusion of the summit, the two governments adopted a joint declaration focused on six elements: energy and ecological transition; a sustainable and competitive economy within the framework of the fight against climate change; digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure from a sustainable perspective; The summit addressed adaptation and crisis management related to the environment and climate change; food security, agriculture, and fisheries; and biodiversity and forest management. “Spain and Portugal, due to their geographical location and socioeconomic characteristics, are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as highlighted by the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events on the Iberian Peninsula,” warns the joint declaration of the summit, whose main theme was precisely the impact of climate change on the two countries, as was clear from the outset with the meeting's motto: “Alliance for Climate Security.” “2025 was the year with the most hectares burned by wildfires in Europe since records began: more than one million hectares in the European Union and more than half of that on the Iberian Peninsula,” declared Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the press conference following the summit. “Last month, the series of storms that we have suffered, both Portugal and Spain, and indeed the entire Iberian Peninsula, have caused historic flooding, fatalities, and material damage,” he added. Therefore, he warned, “if there is a challenge that confronts us, that directly affects the entire Iberian Peninsula, it is the climate emergency.” “More than 500 years ago, a Portuguese and a Spaniard led the first circumnavigation of the globe and proved that the Earth was round, thus challenging the ‘flat-Earthers’ of that time. Well, five centuries later, those ‘flat-Earthers’ who questioned Magellan and Elcano are called climate change deniers,” he continued. According to Pedro Sánchez, both countries have signed an Alliance for Climate Security and a Joint Declaration on the Climate Emergency and have committed to strengthening cooperation in civil protection and emergency management. They have also reached an agreement to strengthen cooperation between their space agencies through the Atlantic Constellation, a project comprised of 16 Earth observation satellites that will improve the prevention of extreme weather events such as floods, fires, and heat waves. In this context, the text warns that “the recent succession of Atlantic depressions in the Iberian Peninsula has highlighted the impact of climate change, and they insist on the urgent need to strengthen operational coordination mechanisms.” Therefore, the two governments “underline the excellence of the cooperation between their respective hydrological authorities regarding the coordinated management of flows in transboundary river basins, whose effectiveness has been crucial in mitigating the impact of floods caused by storms,” the text continues. “Likewise, they are aware of the importance of intensifying their collaboration in the face of increasingly severe drought episodes as a consequence of climate change,” it adds. “In fact, during the last Faro summit we chose water and water management as the central theme, and thanks to our understanding, at the end of that Faro summit we were able to sign an agreement to be more agile when facing calamities,” said Luís Montenegro at the same joint press conference. Energy Furthermore, the declaration emphasizes that “the availability of secure, sustainable, and affordable energy is a determining factor for the competitiveness of the European economy, its industrial base, and its businesses, which is essential to ensuring a balanced framework of competences, supporting the climate transition, and strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy.” Therefore, Spain and Portugal “agree to move towards a more integrated, resilient, and innovative Iberian energy system, consistent with European energy and climate objectives,” and maintain “their firm commitment to expanding and modernizing the interconnections between their two countries and between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe, with the aim of fully integrating into the European energy market.” According to Montenegro, the two countries agreed that they cannot “continue delaying the process of energy interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and Europe,” because it is “the central element that underpins our autonomy, our sovereignty, and our competitiveness.” Furthermore, the two countries “reaffirm their commitment to continue promoting cooperation to improve the well-being of people living in cross-border territories, encouraging population settlement and revitalizing the territories and towns most affected by depopulation, while protecting their environment and cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible.” Signing of agreements Within the framework of the summit, the two governments signed several cooperation instruments: an agreement for the safety of navigation and recreational boating on the international section of the Miño River, a declaration to boost competitiveness, a joint declaration on the climate emergency, and a declaration of intent regarding the governance model of the Iberian Energy Storage Research Center (CIIAE). Several memoranda of understanding were also signed on environmental and entomological surveillance and public health emergency response, on proper nutrition and the prevention and treatment of obesity, on strengthening policies to protect and promote consumer rights, on strengthening social policies, and on combating disinformation, protecting minors online, cybersecurity, and best practices in the implementation of artificial intelligence in public administration.

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