Pedro Sánchez brought to Baku, where the world climate summit is being held this year, a clear message of commitment to ecological transition policies at a time when they are being questioned by many countries. Sánchez has taken Baku as a clear example that climate change has direct dramatic consequences on the world’s population. “In Spain, in Valencia, we have witnessed one of the biggest climate disasters in our history. More than 220 people have lost their lives in my country, and they are the reason why I am here, to say loud and clear that climate change kills, and also to find solutions to avoid it,” the President of the Government began in his first participation at a summit table, in a speech in English. Later, in his speech to the plenary, he was even clearer along the same lines: “Last year alone, climate change killed more than 300,000 people and has just contributed to the deaths of 222 citizens of my country, in the greatest natural disaster in our history.”
The Spanish president to act now against warming, also in developing countries, which have more difficulties in meeting some objectives, and in other developed countries that refuse to lower emissions at the agreed pace. In fact, Donald Trump already reneged on the Paris agreements in his first term and it is very likely that he will do so again in his second.
Sánchez has insisted in Baku that what happened in Valencia is neither punctual nor coincidental. “What happened in Valencia is not something isolated. It is happening in every corner of the planet. That is why we must be ambitious at this summit. We can’t look the other way. We have to act now,” he insisted before receiving applause from other participants.
The speech in front of the plenary session has been a declaration of intentions to reject the denialism of Trump and others, even without citing anyone. “The planet is giving us increasingly clear signals. If we do not act, our countries will suffer more droughts, heat waves, torrential rains, fires and disease in the near future. This existential threat is already evident to anyone. It has gone from academic articles to our televisions and windows. But still, at this crucial moment for humanity, we are seeing many governments falter. Or even deny the evidence, turn around and walk backwards. Back to oil, combustion vehicles, and deregulation, just so the rich keep getting richer. Even knowing that this formula will lead us all to disaster,” Sánchez said.
The Spanish president has defended that the fight against climate change and growth are compatible, as demonstrated by the case of Spain, contrary to what deniers say. “We don’t have to give up abundance or go back to the Stone Age. We have to transform ourselves. We have to innovate, decarbonize, use new materials and processes, promote circularity, and adapt our cities, fields and infrastructure to make them more resilient to new climate realities. It is not about decreasing, but growing in a different way. In Spain we are already doing it. In recent years, we have turned the ecological transition into a source of modernization and prosperity. We have reduced our emissions and our consumption of natural resources by 40%. And, at the same time, we have been the OECD economy that has grown the most and that has generated the most jobs. “You can grow with equity and respecting the planet,” he insisted.
“Do not listen to those who say that the ecological transition is incompatible with the well-being of nations, or that it is bad for the middle and working classes. It isn’t true. In fact, it’s just the opposite. If we do not achieve sustainability, our levels of well-being and security will fall considerably over the next decade, and the first to suffer will be precisely those middle and working classes, because they are the ones who work in the sectors and live in the most threatened areas. . This is exactly what has happened in Valencia. That’s why I’m here. Because, right now, there is only one thing as important as helping the victims of this terrible tragedy. Prevent it from occurring again. Prevent natural disasters from repeating and multiplying. Spain will comply. I guarantee it. We are going to continue transforming and in 2050 we will be a carbon-neutral society that respects environmental limits. But it will be of little use if only some of us do it and not all of us. That is why I ask you, as one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, that we act. Let’s stop denying science. And may we fulfill the promise we made to humanity seven years ago when we signed the Paris agreement. Let’s save the lives of our citizens. Let’s save their economies. And let’s save the planet,” Sánchez concluded.
The head of the Government also made it clear that the big problem now is that there is not enough financing for developing countries to implement their plans against climate change. “We need better financing. This COP has to be a platform to achieve this. Funding in developing countries is not enough. We have to innovate our financing system, incorporate more and better the private sector, look for new sources of financing such as great fortunes, we have to reflect a new reality of a world that has changed,” he insisted, thus opening the door to taxes on large assets to finance the fight against climate change.
In another intervention, the president also wanted to send an optimistic message: according to a recent WHO report, abandoning fossil fuels could save millions of lives. “The implementation of renewable energy, the electrification of vehicles and homes, the preservation of natural spaces and diets that contribute to reducing the carbon footprint are all policies that improve people’s health,” says Sánchez. “According to the WHO report, a gradual, fair and orderly phase-out of fossil fuels could prevent almost 2 million deaths annually in the next decade. It is the population of Slovenia or Lesotho. This figure is almost three times higher than the number of deaths caused by malaria or HIV, two of the biggest global health problems today,” explained the president to try to show that there is a horizon of hope if the objectives are truly met. the decarbonization process.
From Podemos, Irene Montero has criticized Sánchez who, at the same time that he is giving this speech in Baku, in Madrid he is accepting Junts’ demand not to further extend the extraordinary tax on large energy companies. This discussion may complicate the approval of the fiscal package that the PSOE and Sumar have agreed upon and with it the collection of the fifth disbursement of European funds that is linked to the approval of this reform.
