Various environmental organizations have denounced the delay, in their serious opinion, which is suffering the final application of the Laws of climate change and natural heritage. In the opinion of these entities, this regulation is key to face the ecological emergency of the planet, as well as ensure the right to a healthy environment.
“Spanish environmental legislation is, in many aspects, solid and advanced; what fails is its application. The lack of effective coordination between the State and the Autonomous communities It is slowing the implementation of the necessary policies to deal with the global crisis. This shows that, without true coordinated environmental governance, we cannot advance effectively to face the great environmental challenges, ”they detail.
In this sense, for these organizations one of the most relevant breaches is the delay in environmental taxation matters With an article of the law that forces to identify tax aids every year to fossil fuels and elaborate a calendar for its progressive review and elimination.
Climatic and biodiversity laws that do not apply rigorously and carry delay
Ecological organizations denounce the serious delay in the application of the laws of climate change and natural heritage, essential to face the ecological emergency and to ensure the right to a healthy environment. A firm commitment of all public administrations is needed to guarantee the effective execution of climatic and biodiversity laws.
And that is why they launch this alert: Spain will not be able to respond adequately to the climatic emergency, or to the biodiversity crisis, if its environmental laws are not applied in a determined way. Four years after the approval of the Climate change lawand with more than fifteen years from the Natural Heritage Law, the legal tools are, but the results do not arrive. Regulatory obligations remain far from becoming effective policies.
“Spanish environmental legislation is, in many aspects, solid and advanced; what fails is its application. The lack of effective coordination between the State and the autonomous communities is stopping the implementation of the necessary policies to deal with the global crisis. This shows that, without a true coordinated environmental governance, we cannot effectively advance to face the great environmental challenges,” they claim.
“Without environmental justice there will be no social justice, so we demand a clear institutional commitment to comply with the laws. This is only possible with a robust evaluation system, with verifiable indicators that work as a true picture of environmental controls and that are discussed annually in Congress, with transparency and ambition, ”they add
Failure commitments of the Climate Change Law
The Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, approved in May 2021was born with the ambition to mark the course towards a neutral economy in carbon, resilient and socially fair. However, four years later, they consider that their effective application is far from being underway, which calls into question the country’s ability to fulfill its climatic commitments and guarantee the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
One of the most relevant breaches is the delay in environmental taxation. Article 11 of the Law obliges to identify annually the fiscal aid for fossil fuels and elaborate a calendar for its progressive review and elimination. Four years later, no calendar has been approved or progress has been communicated. Although the Government has already received in 2022 the White Paper on Tax Reform, with clear proposals to advance green taxation, these have not been incorporated into the regulatory framework. This inaction compromises the objectives of decarbonization and remains effectiveness to the Climate Change Law.
Another non -developed essential aspect is binding environmental zoning for renewable energies, collected in article 21. This tool must identify areas of exclusion and sensitivity due to its importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although the renewable deployment has accelerated in recent years, the cartographic tool provided for in the law has not been completed or acquired normative. This is causing a proliferation of projects in places of high environmental value, generating conflicts with rural communities and with the conservation of biodiversity.
The lack of advance in key structural aspects of the Climate change law, such as adaptation to climate change of protected spaces. Article 24 establishes that, within a period of three years since the approval of the law, an evaluation of the medium and long -term representativeness of the protected spaces networks, including the Natura 2000 Network, must be presented, compared to different climatic scenarios. This evaluation has not been made public.
In addition, the law forces that the management plans of these spaces, when reviewed, incorporate specific diagnoses, objectives and actions of adaptation, including indicators and measures to guarantee ecological connectivity, but have barely been updated.
Another relevant breach is the non -constitution of the Committee for experts in climate exchange and energy transition provided for in article 37, whose function is to guarantee an independent evaluation of compliance with climate objectives and issue technical recommendations. His absence weakens the transparency and accountability of the government before the citizens.
To this are added other aspects even without effective development, such as the integration of climate change into urban planning, public procurement or environmental education, as well as the reinforcement of adaptation policies in key sectors such as water, soil, agrarian or forestry ecosystems. All these delays compromise the country’s ability to face the impacts of climate change.
The Natural Heritage Law: Great pending instruments
They also analyze Law 42/2007 of natural heritage and biodiversity, which has been in force for more than 17 years, and still does not count on some of its most essential instruments to protect biodiversity. Among them, the absence of the in -danger habitats catalog stands out, a legal mandate that has never been fulfilled. They have insistently claimed their approval and requested that coastal lagoons, one of the most threatened and deteriorated habitats, are the first to be included.
Nor have the biodiversity integration sector plans been developed, provided for in the Law itself and in the State Green Infrastructure Strategy, Connectivity and Ecological Restoration approved in 2021. These plans should have oriented environmental action in sectors such as agriculture, energy, fishing or transport, but today they do not exist today. Its absence perpetuates disconnection between economic policies and environmental objectives.
Another key commitment, collected in the State Biodiversity and Natural Heritage Strategy 2030, is the Disposal of harmful subsidies for biodiversity, a measure endorsed internationally. Spain was the first European country to recognize it in its environmental legislation, but almost two decades later there is neither an official diagnosis that identifies these negative incentives, nor a plan for progressive review or elimination.
Finally, although the State Strategic Plan for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity 2030 was approved in 2022, many of its most urgent commitments go with delay or lack a specific calendar, which puts its effectiveness and weakens its effectiveness and weakens its transformative potential in a Critical moment for biodiversity.
The same crisis, fragmented responses
They insist that the ecological emergency cannot be faced with partial responses. Although Spain has assumed relevant commitments in climatic and biodiversity matters, they consider that its fulfillment is slowed down by the incoherence of other public policies. Agricultural subsidies that promote harmful practices, fiscal policies that still favor the use of fossil fuels or lack of ambition when incorporating environmental criteria in fishing policies and in territorial planning and land use contrast with the objectives of decarbonization and recovery of nature.
That is why they demand a truly integrated vision of the ecological transition, that a climatic action, the protection of biodiversity and public health as interdependent pillars of a fair transformation. To do this, it is essential Advance in a more effective and coordinated governance among all public administrations, exceeding current fragmentation.