Coal is an exhaustible, non-renewable source of energy and pollutes our atmosphere. The president of the UK Climate Change Committee and member of the House of Lords for the Conservative Party, Lord Deben, assures that Spain is a country that has it very easy to abandon coal, since it is neither viable nor pollutes .
What should Spain do to forget about coal?
Spain and the energy transition
The Spanish Government must face a future based on an energy transition that directs energy in a decarbonized world where renewables prevail. The Briton has held numerous positions of responsibility in his country in the last four decades and is a great expert on climate regulation and the energy situation in Spain.
He has made an appeal to all political parties in Spain so that energy laws are carried out as a result of a social and state pact. Only in this way can social and political stability and, above all, environmental sustainability be achieved.
For an environmental policy to be useful and to have an impact on the energy system of a country, it must have clear, feasible, realistic and long-term goals.
Deben gives the case of British politics as an example for Spain. The rule that went ahead in the field of energy and climate change was established thanks to the support of all parliamentary groups, unions, employers and other social organizations, and has been a reference for the elaboration of laws in twelve countries, including France, Sweden, Mexico or Austria.
Climate Change Committee
British law has an independent body, called the Climate Change Committee, in charge of preparing binding five-year carbon budgets, which tell the British Government how much can be emitted in each period to achieve the objective that the norm sets in the long term: a country decarbonized in 2050 (which implies a gas reduction of 80% compared to 1990).
Since the budget is binding, there is pressure to meet the targets set and there is continuous development. The climate change committee has a group made up of 6 climate experts, two economists and a president (in this case Lord Deben).
In order to function properly and advance in an adequate way, the committee has full access to all the data that have to do with the climate and its evolution from both the Government and society. As a record and to check the degree of compliance with the objectives imposed by the regulation, each June they prepare a report that is available for citizens to see. and denounce their Government in the case in which they do not comply with what has been stipulated in the law.
Having a roadmap towards decarbonization means that all policies that try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not affected by the cuts of the economic crisis or remain under the decisions of the government in power, as in the case of Spain and renewable energies.
What should Spain do?
One of the main recommendations that Deben has made to Spain is that parties and organizations focus more on agreeing a long-term governance system that institutionalizes the fight against warming, and that a committee like the one in the United Kingdom be created.
"In my conversations with the Government I have appreciated that they want to set all kinds of sectoral objectives in the short term, and I think it is a mistake, the representatives of the sectors (agriculture, energy or transport) get nervous when you talk about figures to few years and you have to negotiate with them downward. That is not a good strategy. I think it is easier to set long-term goals and build carbon budgets to achieve them »advises Lord Deben.
Coal is no longer economically viable and only makes the current pollution and climate change situation worse.