2023-05-16 13:04:16
The Basque Government Council approved this Tuesday the Basque Country Energy Transition and Climate Change Bill with the aim of accelerating the decarbonisation process through co-responsibility, with measures to achieve climate neutrality and a “fair” energy transition for the year 2050.
The Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantxa Tapia, explained at the press conference after the Council that this is the first law that addresses climate change in the Basque Country and, after its approval, it will be sent to the Basque Parliament for processing. .
The bill establishes “of its own free will” a stable legal framework to achieve the goal of net zero emissions in the Basque Country “by 2050 at the latest”, through the reduction of emissions and a greater absorption of greenhouse gases greenhouse of the atmosphere, in order to reach a level of zero net emissions and increase the resilience of the Basque territory to climate change.
Tapia has defended that it will be a “key tool” to respond both to the objective set in the Paris Agreement of 2015, which called for limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5 °C with respect to pre-industrial times and adapting to the effects of climate change, such as the Institutional Declaration of Climate Emergency in 2019 by Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu, in which “urgent and ambitious actions” were announced to achieve a carbon-neutral Basque Country by 2050.
As he has detailed, the latest data corresponding to the year 2020 indicate that the energy sector, transport and industry are the ones that contribute the most to the emissions of greenhouse gases in the Basque Country, generating 84% of the total emissions in the Basque Country and the The contribution of the Basque Country on the map of the total emissions of the European Union is around 0.5%.
Tapia explained that “the basic principle” that governs the Basque Government’s policy on energy transition and climate change is that of “shared responsibility”. “The Basque Country cannot remain on the sidelines, and from the Government we have assumed our share of responsibility with a deep and demanding commitment that is reflected in this bill”, he highlighted.
In this sense, it has indicated that the process will be carried out “under the criteria of a fair transition that takes into account the equitable distribution of the costs and burdens derived from it, without leaving anyone behind, paying special attention to the economic sectors , territories and the most vulnerable population, integrating the variable of gender, age or dysfunction of the people, so that the transition does not become a new cause of injustices and inequalities”.
Roadmap 2050
The Basque Government will approve the 2050 Roadmap for Energy Transition and Climate Change that “will define the path to achieve climate neutrality and the resilience of the territory”. The document must be approved within a maximum period of 18 months.
It will outline the itinerary for compliance with the goals set, through energy transition and climate change strategies, which will be every decade at most, including quantitative and sectoral objectives, as well as the actions, tools and resources necessary to achieve them.
In order to achieve climate neutrality in the Basque Country before the year 2050, the bill contemplates the development of actions such as the establishment of energy efficiency and renewable obligations, for companies, households, administration and other consumers.
Also the promotion from public administrations of new energy vectors from renewable sources, such as hydrogen-based technologies; the promotion of projects related to the storage of energy, both electrical and thermal, and of initiatives that favor the capture and storage of CO2; and the approval of sustainable mobility plans.
The law contemplates other sectoral and territorial policies that can contribute to climate neutrality, such as carrying out emission reduction plans to minimize the carbon footprint in certain sectors, as well as other specific measures by sectors.
In addition, it contemplates the integration by public administrations of emission reductions and more efficient actions in the protection and management of the natural environment; and the adoption of measures for the integration of energy efficiency and climate change in the field of land use planning and planning, in construction and rehabilitation, as well as in the management of infrastructures and public facilities.
No penalty regime
The counselor has highlighted that the law does not contemplate a sanctioning regime, since she considers that “this is what other regulations are already for, such as the environmental administration laws or the conservation of the Natural Heritage of the Basque Country, among others” but it includes “the use of taxation, providing tax incentives for actions that favor adaptation to climate change or the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions”.
In addition, the approved text contemplates the creation of a Basque Registry of Energy Transition and Climate Change Initiatives, which will be public, and in which public or private entities will register their actions in climate action.
Registration will be free and will entail administrative benefits, such as public recognition or being able to use this registry as a means to prove the technical solvency of public contracts or as an evaluation criterion in the process of granting public aid and subsidies.
Companies, administrations — including town halls — and public entities will be able to calculate their carbon footprint and design a specific emission reduction plan aimed at minimizing their environmental impact and articulating the necessary measures so that it is zero or negative.
The rule also includes that Basque provinces and municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants must draw up, within the framework of their powers, climate and energy plans that will contribute to the objectives of the territory as a whole. A maximum term of two years is established from the approval of the law.
On the other hand, it contemplates the creation of an Energy Transition and Climate Change Office to monitor the objectives pursued by the law and control over compliance with the regulations.
It will be the body in charge of inventorying the emissions in the Basque Country and future projections, setting possible climate scenarios that will serve as a reference for preparing planning instruments and promoting dissemination activities.
Tapia explained that with the objective of “achieving a fair and sustainable transition that guarantees equity and solidarity, without leaving anyone behind”, the equitable distribution of costs and burdens will be taken into account, “with special attention to the sectors economic conditions, territories and the most vulnerable population, integrating the variable of gender, age or functional diversity, so that the transition does not become a new cause of inequalities”.
Participation will be promoted through the adoption of a Social Pact for the energy transition and climate change. In addition, the Basque Government will set up the Euskadi Citizen Assembly for Energy Transition and Climate Change.
Lastly, the new regulation establishes that the energy and climate perspective must be incorporated into the Budgets of the Basque Government. The rest of the Basque administrations will promote the integration of the energy and climate perspective in their budgets in their design phase.
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