*Note: Article written April 18, 2020; as this is an evolving situation, data and situations may have changed by the publication of this article. Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID–19 pandemic worldwide. As of mid-April, Spain had contributed nearly 200,000 cases of the 2 million across the globe, accounting...
In 2018, Spain underwent a major energy reform, focusing in large part on the renewables sector, something Spain is very proud of and also something that Climate Scorecard often mentions in their Spanish country posts (see here and here). In early 2019, further energy reform was paused while Prime Minister Sanchez was having trouble putting...
As part of the European Union, Spain has historically not had an explicit carbon tax on all products but has generally priced its general energy taxes at high levels for the everyday consumer. Spain began pricing a portion of its carbon in 2014, and according to the OECD’s records from that time, Spain priced over...
2019 was a year of increasing visibility of climate change: motivated global citizens stepped up to the plate and demanded change from global leaders, many 2020 presidential candidates from the U.S. finally put real focus on climate change as one of their top priorities and campaigning strategies, and “climate crisis” was the word of the...
Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition has made a specific effort to educate upcoming generations on the impacts of climate change as well as mitigation efforts to curb these same effects. The Ministry, known as MITECO, has taken charge of mandating the national climate change curriculum in the primary and secondary public-school systems. According to two...
Teresa Ribera, Minister of the Ecological Transition of Spain, is likely the most well-known climate spokesperson for the country. Known mostly for her high-profile government position, Ribera has also done significant work for climate change expanding beyond her title as Spanish Minister. The 50-year-old Madrid native has degrees in law and political science from the...
