Spain aims to achieve a circular and carbon-neutral economy by 2050, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced. 

By 2050, Spain will be “more arid and unpredictable”, as 70% of its territory is expected to face droughts. This was revealed by the government’s Spain 2050 report, which they hope will launch a debate around the nation’s future. Soon, Spain will need to make significant changes  to cope with the climate emergency. Some of Spain’s key sectors, like agriculture and tourism, will suffer serious disruptions, while 20,000 people could die every year from rising temperatures.

Spain will suffer the most in Europe when it comes to access to freshwater, the report added. Running water in homes might not be affected, but resource management will soon need to undergo crucial changes.

To avoid this scenario, the report suggests  a circular and carbon-neutral economy and “radically changing how we generate energy, how we move, produce, and consume goods and services.” The transformation will involve investing in sustainable energies and electric vehicles, reinventing production processes, reducing waste, encouraging ecological farming, and “green” tax reform.

Green development will have to be accomplished in record time, while “maintaining competitiveness” and “leaving no one behind,” said Sánchez. The European Commission has set a similar EU-wide objective of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as well as an intermediate 55% reduction target by 2030. 

How can countries realistically make the transformation to a circular economy? Emma Fromberg writes here about the pitfalls and common misconceptions on the subject. Elsewhere, The Conversation explains why net zero might be a dangerous trap. Does this ‘burn now, pay later’ approach actually work? 

Click here for full article at Euractive.

 

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