At the start of the new political season, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a series of major measures to address climate threats. The main focus includes the creation of a national agency for civil protection and emergencies, as well as the establishment of a national network of climate shelters in both urban and rural areas.
These steps come in response to increasingly frequent extreme weather events, which authorities say are becoming more common and destructive as a result of global warming. The new agency is expected to improve coordination across different levels of government and emergency services when managing the aftermath of natural disasters.
In parallel, the government plans to work with local municipalities to create a network of climate shelters. These facilities will be designed to protect residents from extreme temperatures and other hazardous climate events. Authorities emphasize that these measures are necessary to minimize risks to public health and safety.
Pedro Sánchez called on all political forces to set aside disputes on this issue and unite in order to develop a unified strategy. In the near future, consultations are planned with representatives of political parties, regional and local administrations, the scientific community, trade unions, agricultural and environmental organizations. The goal is to achieve broad public consensus on climate security issues.
This week, the Council of Ministers will review a document outlining the main directions of the new policy. A special subcommittee will be created in parliament to discuss a possible agreement. Government officials believe the opposition is unlikely to openly oppose the creation of the Civil Protection Agency, although they acknowledge that the current political climate makes reaching an inter-party agreement more difficult.
The Prime Minister noted that in several regions of the country there had previously been missteps regarding funding for prevention and fire service equipment. He also highlighted the danger of ignoring scientific data on climate change, stressing that any delay could lead to new tragedies in the coming years.
According to official data, Spain has suffered €32 billion in material losses from extreme weather events over the past five years. During the same period, more than 20,000 people died due to climate-related causes, mainly heat. These figures are comparable to the education budget and are twice the number of road traffic fatalities.
The authorities intend to go beyond domestic initiatives and plan to establish cooperation with neighboring countries, particularly Portugal and France, to jointly address the consequences of climate disasters. Spain will also press the European Union for more decisive action in environmental policy.
Other government proposals include establishing permanent disaster recovery funds, strengthening the technical and staff capacity of emergency services, promoting mixed forests with resilient tree species, supporting traditional livestock farming and efficient irrigation, as well as measures to prevent floods and droughts.
Ministers emphasize that this summer has been one of the most difficult in recent decades: the area affected by fires reached record highs, and the August heat was the longest and most intense in half a century of observations. Authorities believe the country is facing a new reality—a climate emergency—and are calling for joint efforts to protect Spain’s future.
