Better luck second time round
EVEN though the move appears to have upset a few people, new Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has taken an important step to tackle the climate emergency in Spain by making minister for the ecological transition, Teresa Ribera Rodríguez one of his four deputies in the government.
This gives the environment a much higher profile and will allow Sra Ribera much more room for manoeuvre.
In fact Greenpeace in Spain were so happy about the appointment that they issued a press release praising the initiative.
The ecologists ‘celebrated the commitment’ of Sr Sánchez with the fight against climate change.
They said they ‘trust’ that this will translate into ‘ambitious and urgent measures’.
“This position (deputy PM) is a historic demand of the environmental movement,” said Greenpeace’s executive director Mario Rodríguez.
“It is the first time that environmental issues have been elevated to the position of a deputy prime minister.”
He said they now wait to hear the details and ‘the reach’ of the measures which will be taken by the government.
And, many other ordinary citizens – including me – will also be looking forward to seeing what the new coalition has planned.
Both parties who form the new government – the Socialists and Unidas Podemos – have talked a good fight in their election manifestoes but the words now have to be translated into policies which will have a lasting effect.
They could be hampered by budget problems, with the European Commission warning that Spain is likely to miss debts targets for the coming year.
However, while the government will have to spend money on converting the country’s energy production infrastructure to green sources, a lot of work can be done as a facilitator – tax breaks for people who install solar panels on their homes, obliging construction companies to install solar panels on all new properties and buildings, tax breaks for companies which set up green energy projects, etc.
A linchpin in this will be Sra Ribera, who is at the helm of the ministry.
Importantly Sra Ribera was the director of The Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in Paris for four years from 2014 to 2018.
IDDRI is a think tank that supports the transition towards sustainable development
During this time she enabled the Institute to play a key role in the negotiation of the Paris Climate Agreement.
This experience shows that she could really make a difference in Spain – if she is given the backing or her government.
One negative point is that Sra Ribera was not able to accomplish a great deal when she was secretary of state for climate change from 2008 to 2011 in a previous Socialist government. A mitigating factor would be that this was at the height of the economic crisis which deeply affected Spain.
We can only wish Sra Ribera well and hope that this time around she is able to put her considerable knowledge to work for the benefit of the environment.