While the extreme right and some conservative parties, such as the case of the Spanish PP, call into question at the heart of the European Union some of the objectives of the European Union, including its very existence, in La Rábida (Huelva) the Portuguese Prime Minister, the conservative Luis Montenegro – European ally of Alberto Núñez Feijóo – and the progressive Pedro Sánchez have closed this Friday with their ministers an Iberian alliance against climate change that leaves no room for denialism. “Only through ambitious, cooperative and socially fair climate action will it be possible to protect its citizens, preserve the ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula and contribute responsibly to global climate stability,” concludes the “joint declaration against the climate emergency” that both countries have signed. The governments of the two countries are fundamentally committed to increasing their cooperation to manage and prevent emergencies linked to global warming.
This has been the star issue of a Spanish-Portuguese summit that had to be delayed due to and which began precisely with a memory from the two delegations to those victims. 10 Spanish and seven Portuguese ministers participate in the event.
Both countries, when talking about climate change, are an indissoluble dance partner, whether the impacts or the ways to avoid them are addressed. The Iberian Peninsula is at the epicenter of a climate crisis that hits in the form of extreme events in an increasingly recurrent way. For example, with the succession of the episode that the Peninsula experienced at the start of this year that, according to some scientists, proves that the rains .
In this sense, the La Rábida declaration is committed to “promoting” the joint development of “hydrological plans in shared basins”, in addition to “coordinating evaluation and response systems in situations of drought and scarcity, collaborating in the planning and management of flood risk, promoting, among other aspects, systems for exchanging hydrological information in real time and reinforcing the protection of the state and quality of the waters.” They also promise to promote collaboration in “early warning systems and risk and impact assessment of strategic sectors.” And promote “a civic culture of prevention and response to climate emergencies.”
Problems linked to water – whether due to scarcity or flooding – are one side of the common problem they suffer. The other side of this emergency linked to the burning of fossil fuels is fires. And, again, Spain and Portugal are united in this problem. The succession of heat waves in July and August ended up leading to the worst wave of fires in decades in the northwest of the Peninsula. In fact, more than half of the hectares will be affected by fire in 2025 across the EU due to this tremendous streak of summer fires.
That is why the two countries have committed to increasing coordination in “response to the risks of climate change” programs linked to “the conservation and restoration of nature”, the “prevention of forest fires” and “civil protection against extreme events”.
Disinformation
In addition to betting on scientific knowledge to improve preparation for these extremes, the declaration advocates for “coordinated action against disinformation,” to achieve “effective and socially supported climate action.” The text of this summit is reminiscent, in some passages, of the one promoted by the Sánchez Government after the fires this summer, but which has not garnered the support of the rest of the political formations.
If Spain and Portugal are united in suffering the effects of this crisis, they are also united in the solutions. Because the energy sector is mainly responsible for the problem and, especially in the electricity sector, both countries are also an indissoluble couple as they are highly interconnected. Both countries have been at the forefront of the EU in promoting renewables in this decade, which has led, for example, to them leaving behind the use of coal, the fossil fuel that causes the most greenhouse emissions. This commitment to renewables has allowed both countries to gain in energy security and to make progress in reducing their dependence on fossil fuels that in most cases come from unstable areas, as is being seen with the attack by Israel and the United States on Iran.
In their statement, they promise “close technical and administrative cooperation on cross-border environmental evaluation of energy projects”, a section that in some cases, such as those related to nuclear power plants, has generated friction. In any case, the two countries make it clear that “renewable energies and the full integration of the electrical networks of Spain and Portugal, and their effective connection with the rest of the European continent, are essential pillars to guarantee an energy transition.” And they add their support to the “commitment to an ecological and fair transition that leaves no one behind, based on the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, consolidating the security of energy supply and the competitiveness of their economies.”
This defense of renewables and the goal of climate neutrality in 2050 – which in practice means completely disengaging from fossil fuels – are once again very important in the global context. Because Donald Trump’s Administration has put the European model of betting on renewables in the crosshairs of its pressures. It could be seen last month, when Trump’s Energy Secretary, former oil industry executive Chris Wright, visited Paris. Several countries, such as Spain, France and the United Kingdom, came out in defense of these measures.
Now, in the La Rábida declaration, Portugal and Spain “commit to systematically integrate the climate security dimension into their public policies, as well as to promote this approach within the European Union, the United Nations and other multilateral forums.” Because, also contrary to what Trump and many of the far-right European parties want, the two countries reaffirm “their confidence in multilateralism as an essential pillar to offer coordinated, supportive and effective responses to climate challenges.”
