The government passed Royal Decree 214/2025, requiring all companies with more than 500 employees and all public institutions to calculate, publish, and plan reductions for their GHG emissions and ecological footprints.
Emissions at a Turning Point
Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must reach their peak by 2025 and begin an immediate decline to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, according to a report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This transition demands not only the closure of coal and gas power plants within the next decade but also sweeping societal and economic transformations.
Spain, like much of the world, faces this pivotal moment. Following a steep drop in emissions during the pandemic—down 12.5% year-on-year—the country has since plateaued. Between 2020 and 2024, emissions rose slightly from 274 Mt CO₂-eq to 278 Mt CO₂-eq, indicating stagnation rather than progress.
One of the main culprits: the transportation sector, which has shown little change. Its lack of advancement has undercut gains made in energy, where emissions fell 19% thanks to increased renewable generation. However, this rapid shift wasn’t without consequences. A nationwide blackout revealed vulnerabilities in the electricity grid—at the time, 75% of the energy supply was renewable (50% solar, 25% wind), and the system struggled to adapt.
Earth Overshoot and the Warning Signs
On May 23, Spain reached its Earth Overshoot Day, the date by which the country had consumed more ecological resources than the planet can regenerate in a year. If the global population lived like the people of Spain, humanity would need 2.6 Earths to sustain its current consumption, according to the Global Footprint Network.
This milestone underscores a larger truth: while Spain’s renewable sector is advancing rapidly, sustainable development requires more than clean electricity. It demands changes in consumption, infrastructure, and, most of all, the citizens’ involvement based on a planning decarbonization strategy across all sectors.
Policy Shifts and Investment Momentum
The first half of 2025 brought major political and regulatory developments. Leadership changes in the Ministry for the Ecological Transition included the appointment of Sara Aagesen as Minister, replacing Teresa Ribera, who moved to a new post in Brussels. Elena Pita now leads the Spanish Climate Change Office, succeeding Valvanera Ulargui.
Amid this transition, the government passed Royal Decree 214/2025, requiring all companies with more than 500 employees and all public institutions to calculate, publish, and plan reductions for their GHG emissions and ecological footprints. It also expands the national carbon offset registry, introducing new “blue carbon” categories focused on ocean-based carbon sinks.
In 2025, self-consumption finally seems to gain momentum, with the political will to update Royal Decree 244/2019, of April 5, which regulates the administrative, technical, and economic conditions of electricity self-consumption. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge launched a participatory process through a preliminary public consultation to design “a new regulatory framework, more aligned with the current needs of the self-consumption rollout, allowing for the incorporation of the experience gained over recent years.” The Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), a public entity under the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has distributed more than 2 billion euros in self-consumption aid over the past few years.
The regulatory push is supported by significant EU funding. In June 2025, Spain secured €700 million from the European Commission to expand its energy storage capabilities. This investment will support 2.5–3.5 GW of battery, pumped hydro, and thermal storage—critical for grid stability as renewable penetration grows. With this, the storage capacity needed in Spain to avoid more blackouts.
Market signals have also improved. The early removal of the windfall tax on energy profits unlocked more than €800 million in green investments, including major green methanol and hydrogen projects led by major companies such as Repsol and Moeve.
A Transition in Motion—But Is It Enough?
Spain’s climate transition is gaining momentum. Emissions data for mid-2025 indicate a slight downward trend, and policy measures are increasingly aligned with EU climate goals. Stronger reporting obligations, large-scale energy storage plans, and investments in hydrogen indicate a more robust green framework.
Still, experts caution that without faster fossil fuel phase-outs, tougher carbon pricing, and broader infrastructure upgrades, progress may not be enough. The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2025 places Spain in the “medium” category, acknowledging strong growth in renewables but citing insufficient reductions in fossil fuels and slow deployment of storage.
Calls are growing for Spain to adopt more ambitious targets, such as a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. For now, the country is seen as “moving forward-slowly”—but with the right policy ambition and follow-through, it could yet become a climate leader.
To regain momentum and realign with the more ambitious goals of the updated NIECP (National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan), which foresees the creation of 560,000 new jobs linked to decarbonization in Spain by 2030, the focus must be placed on citizens and society. The first announced adjustment measure after the national blackout was a hike in electricity bills. The people affected by the floods in Valencia, eight months after the disaster, are still demanding support and aid from the government, which continues to clash with the main opposition party, since the disaster occurred in a region governed by them. These are just two examples of why the results of the Ecological Transition Observatory’s survey on how citizens perceive the just transition are so unfavorable: 50% of respondents believe this process will harm citizens.
To begin changing this perception, there needs to be better integration and communication of renewable energy projects with the interests of the communities where they are implemented. The agrivoltaics projects that are beginning to be introduced, as well as the social criteria in future capacity auctions, are two examples that can help restore the essential social support for these initiatives.
Decarbonizing demand is fundamental. Only if we can transform our energy consumption—by electrifying those uses that make economic sense to electrify and decarbonizing those that cannot be electrified—will we truly achieve a sustainable economy. This can be accomplished by implementing effective decarbonization measures that send the right signals to consumers. Without good communication and genuine collaboration with citizens, this will not be achieved.
For this purpose, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has launched the processing of the Social Climate Plan (PSpC), starting with a preliminary public consultation that closed on March 21, 2025, allowing citizens and interested organizations to submit their contributions.
The PSpC includes funding for various measures and investments aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of transportation and buildings, prioritizing energy efficiency in buildings, and facilitating access to more sustainable heating and cooling systems.
It also provides for the implementation of direct aid to support affordable and energy-efficient mobility, with special attention to vulnerable households, microenterprises, and users with special transportation needs. In a context where self-employed workers and microenterprises represent a fundamental pillar of Spain’s economic fabric, the PSpC is emerging as a strategic tool to drive decarbonization and promote the transition to a more sustainable energy model that places strong emphasis on rural areas. Overall, funding for this plan in Spain is estimated to reach around 9 billion euros between 2026 and 2032.
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Spain Country Manager, Juanjo Santos.