Pedro Sánchez: "We are growing more than anyone else and we are growing greener than anyone else"

Rafael del Pino Foundation, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the event (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, stressed that Spain "is growing more than anyone else and is growing greener than anyone else", in view of Spain's economic "success", which saw the country close 2024 with a quarterly GDP growth of 3.5%, and of the energy model, which has made our country a global leader in green hydrogen and the fifth most sustainable economy among the world's major economies. This was stated during the inauguration of the 3rd Enagás Hydrogen Day, which was held in the Auditorium of the Rafael del Pino Foundation in Madrid, and which was also attended by the Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen.

Pedro Sánchez gave his assurance that Spain will continue along the path of promoting the energy transition, and also expressed his conviction that Spain will achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This will involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% and finding economically viable ways of offsetting the remainder with sinks, capture technologies and other technological alternatives. Therefore, in addition to the role of electrification in achieving a "drastic reduction" in greenhouse gas emissions, he stressed the importance of green hydrogen for powering certain industrial processes and heavy transport systems.

Spain, global epicentre of green hydrogen

In this regard, he stressed that it is "a renewable alternative that has been growing exponentially for the last five years due to the immense possibilities it offers". Spain is "one of the world's epicentres, perhaps the most promising of them all", he pointed out, after the "U-turn" taken by the Government since 2018 to commit to clean energy and turn Spain into a renewable power, changing legislation, granting tax credits and dedicating four out of every ten euros of the Recovery Plan to the transition. "We are betting everything on green", he added, thanking the private sector for its "effort" in innovations and multi-million dollar investments with "courageous" transformations of plants and production systems.

Family photo at the third edition of the Enagás Hydrogen Day | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Spain is currently the fifth most sustainable economy among the world's major economies and has managed to ensure that 56% of its electricity production comes from renewable sources, which is allowing "thousands of jobs to be created and electricity to be 30% cheaper than that of our European competitors, overcoming the greatest competitive weakness that our country has had for many decades", the President of the Government of Spain celebrated. This key role played by green hydrogen in the process of making the Spanish economy more competitive is also reflected in the "massive support" from investors and companies, and in the fact that Spain has tripled its initial target for the installed potential of electrolysers to 12 GW in just five years, making it a "global leader in renewable hydrogen".

Economic and energy model success: "Green, Baby, Green"

"We are growing more than anyone else and we are growing greener than anyone else. And these two realities, far from being antithetical, as at some point or even now is being suggested, are intimately linked. The success of our energy model is also the basis for the economic success our country is currently experiencing, which has allowed us to close 2024 with growth of 3.5% of GDP in the fourth quarter", emphasised Pedro Sánchez, in reference to the National Accounts data published on 29 January by the INE (National Statistics Institute). To this must be added, as he recalled, the almost half a million new jobs created and the lowest unemployment rate in the last 16 years, with "a model that has turned us into an exporting power and that is helping us to improve the purchasing power of millions of households and to be one of the countries in the world that has most reduced wage inequality among its workers".

"The energy transition has become the cornerstone of a successful model guided by the three 'Cs': grow, share and care [crecer, compartir y cuidar]. The economy is growing, we are sharing this wealth better and we are looking after the planet in a way that Spain has never done before", said the President of the Government of Spain, who celebrated the fact that "it is producing great results", which is why he has guaranteed that the Executive will continue along this path and will reaffirm the "Green, Baby, Green" because "the future always ends up overtaking the past, however much the past insists on blocking it".

400 million to green hydrogen projects and upcoming resolution of the 1.32 billion Valles programme

Pedro Sánchez announced new investments to continue supporting green hydrogen and the energy transition. Specifically, he indicated that three of the seven projects chosen in the first European Hydrogen Bank auction are Spanish and "we will be supporting them in everything they need". In addition, he announced 400 million euros for projects that have been left out despite a positive evaluation by the European Commission.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the event | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The head of the Executive stressed that green hydrogen will help to achieve climate neutrality in order to "bequeath a sustainable and habitable planet to future generations" and to improve energy sovereignty, generating jobs and industries throughout the territory. At the same time, he stressed that Spain and Europe must strengthen and diversify their trade links and minimise energy dependence. According to Sánchez, if the country manages to reach 81% of electricity production from clean energies by 2030, Spain will reduce its energy dependence on other fossil fuel producing countries by more than 80 billion euros. Among other projects, he alluded to H2Med, which work is being carried out on to make "a reality as soon as possible" the first large continental green energy corridor with an "Iberian vision" which, together with the maritime transport route, will boost the port of Algeciras through its connection with the port of Rotterdam.

Similarly, the Council of Ministers on 28 January approved the direct award of 142.91 million euros to support two other projects selected by the European Commission in the fourth wave of projects of common interest, the 'Hydrogen to Move' mobility project. "Thanks to these initiatives, we will be able to export 2 million tonnes of hydrogen to our partners every year," he added. Pedro Sánchez pointed out that more than 1.5 billion euros have already been spent from the Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen and Storage PERTE (ERHA) and announced that in the next few weeks the provisional resolution of the call for the Hydrogen Valleys programme, worth 1.32 billion euros, will be announced.

Boosting territorial cohesion and combating depopulation

A large part of these resources are being directed to areas affected by depopulation and the loss of productive fabric, such as Los Barrios in Cádiz, As Pontes in A Coruña, Teruel or provinces in need of economic stimulus such as Ciudad Real, Cartagena, Burgos, Huelva, Castellón or Tarragona. As an example of the contribution of the green transition, the President of the Government of Spain pointed out that some studies estimate that the green hydrogen industry could create up to 180,000 new jobs in Spain by 2040.

"We will continue to promote public-private partnership, we will continue to face the green transition as what it is, an immense opportunity for our country, and we will continue to be committed to mitigating and adapting to climate change and to achieving the full decarbonisation of our economy, with more ambition if possible, but above all with commitments to the future such as renewable hydrogen", added Pedro Sánchez.

Non official translation