Spanish recovery builds the cornerstones for a green urban renewal

The Spanish government is planning to invest Recovery money in sustainable transformation of cities and municipalities. This is a welcome step, as cities and citizens have an increasingly important role in the fight against climate change.

In a nutshell:

  • €825 million from Recovery plan for energy transformation in cities
  • Focus on self-consumption, buildings regeneration and electric mobility
  • Citizens actively involved as central actors in this green transition

Details:

As the urban population is expected to grow significantly in the next decades, cities and municipalities will be key actors in the energy transition. This is especially true for Spain, where 3 out of 4 Spaniards live in urban areas and where cities are responsible for more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. Cities and municipalities should therefore receive increasing financial and regulatory support to carry out the necessary transformations effectively and in a short amount of time.

Luckily, the Spanish government has prioritised urban areas in its Recovery plan, as it intends to allocate around €825 million for city-related activities.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Autonomous Communities have agreed that the priorities will be to boost renewable energy self-consumption in the industrial and service sectors and in public facilities at the regional and local levels (€200 million); regeneration of buildings and the energy transition in municipalities with less than 5’000 inhabitants (€225 million); and electric mobility through recharging infrastructure, innovation and electrification of the mobile fleet (€400 million). In addition, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda has proposed initiatives for low-emission zones and measures to reduce the use of private vehicles and improve public transport.

The launch of consultations was another important signal from the Spanish government: as its first beneficiaries, citizens should also have a central role in planning the green transition in cities and municipalities.

Sources:

Ecologistas en Acción

ESEficiencia, El fomento del autoconsumo, entre las primeras iniciativas del Plan de Recuperación, (2021)