Pedro Sánchez, at COP28: "We still have a chance to save the planet, but we need to raise our ambition and commitment"

Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has spoken at the plenary session held in Dubai within the framework of COP28, where he stressed the desire for this event to become an opportunity to adopt a new, strengthened, fair and equitable climate agenda.

Firstly, the president emphasised the need for a new financial architecture that facilitates access to funds, while eliminating bottlenecks and identifying new sources. "We must put climate goals at the heart of economic and fiscal policies, develop robust carbon markets, tackle debt problems and increase fiscal space for the most vulnerable countries," said Pedro Sánchez. He also stressed the need to work on international taxation and the creation of environments conducive to the promotion of investment, innovation and climate cooperation.

In this context, the president of the Government of Spain announced a new contribution of 20 million euros for the new fund for loss and damage, complementing the funds announced at the Climate Ambition Summit in New York and the five million euros already approved for the implementation of the Santiago Network.

On deforestation, President Sánchez announced that Spain will allocate 2 million euros this year to the environmentally sustainable and socially responsible Amazonia Forever bonds project.

Secondly, he referred to mitigation, stressing that the 1.5°C safety limit must be maintained, which means that the global peak of emissions must be reached by 2025 at the latest. In this context, he stressed three essential measures to be applied simultaneously: tripling renewable energy generation capacity by 2030; doubling energy efficiency targets within the same decade; and ending 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 the goal of closing our last coal-fired power plant by 2025," the president said.

Thirdly and finally, Pedro Sánchez addressed adaptation and resilience during the plenary session, and stressed the need for the Paris Agreement objective to be operational and measurable. In this regard, he reiterated that Spain supports the Secretary General's initiatives to have Early Warning Systems for All and his Adaptation Project Portfolio Accelerator.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, at the event on the carbon emissions market | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

Likewise, within the framework of COP28, the president of the Government of Spain took part in an event dedicated to carbon markets, where he was able to highlight the need to invest financial resources to transform global development models. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of creating enabling environments for financial and technological innovation and cooperation, while preserving the benefits of climate action in terms of job creation and economic growth.

At this event, Pedro Sánchez also highlighted the need to leverage private investment, and stressed that, to realise their full potential, carbon markets must be based on strong and ambitious rules in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In this context, he explained the relevance of pricing, stressing that part of the revenues should be used to minimise the possible adverse economic and social impact of both the carbon tax and the energy transition.

He also took part in the presentation of the agreement between Cepsa and C2X, and celebrated the fact that the alliance between the two companies will make it possible to produce 300,000 tonnes of green methanol, which will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tonnes per year. "This project will not just lead to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions," said Pedro Sánchez. He also stated that green methanol will allow progress to be made in the decarbonisation of sectors that are difficult to abandon, such as maritime transport and the chemical industry.

During the day, he also took part in the event of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA). There he was able to address the consequences of scarcity, and reiterated that this global phenomenon requires collective action. In this context, he recalled the main milestones of the commitment made with Senegal with the creation of this Alliance, a year ago. "We have succeeded in reviving political support and raising international awareness of the importance of improving drought resilience," he said.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, speaks at the event of the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), within the framework of the joint Presidency with Senegal | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

In this sense, he celebrated the fact that there are already 60 countries and organisations that have joined IDRA to date, and highlighted the participation of this Alliance in major events, such as the UN Water Conference and World Water Week, among others. Among the achievements addressed by President Sánchez was also the construction of a common framework for action. "Work is already underway on specific hotspots," he said, referring specifically to the Dry Corridor in Central America. Finally, Pedro Sánchez referred to the exchange of knowledge with new publications that increase knowledge on droughts, as demonstrated by the report 'Drought in figures'.

During this event, President Sánchez also highlighted the Government of Spain's commitment in this area, recalling the contribution of 225 million euros to the Green Climate Fund and 20 million euros to the Adaptation Fund. The government has also committed to increasing its climate finance targets by 50%, to 1.35 billion euros per year, from 2025, as Pedro Sánchez stressed. In this context, the president announced that the 'High Level Meeting of national policies on drought + 10' will be held in Barcelona in September 2024.

Non official translation