Spain's climate action strategy

Spain aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 (see trajectory in Figure 1). In 2023, Spain accounted for 8.2 % of the EU's net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieved a net emissions reduction of 39.3 % in the years 2005 to 2023, above the EU average reduction of 30.5 %. During the same period, the country reduced emissions covered by the EU emissions trading system (ETS) by 57.5 %. Spain's land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector has consistently performed as a carbon sink, despite an increasing number of forest fires. In June 2023, Spain updated its recovery and resilience plan and included a REPowerEU chapter. The plan dedicates 39.9 % of total funding to the green transition. Spain submitted a draft updated national energy and climate plan (NECP) on 13 July 2023. The European Commission assessed it and made recommendations for the final updated NECP, which was published on 26 September 2024. In a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, 48 % of Spaniards, compared with an EU average of 46 %, consider climate change to be one of the four most serious problems facing the world. Most expect the EU (56 %), national governments (56 %) and business and industry (54 %) to tackle climate change, while 36 % find it to be a personal responsibility. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States.