climate change

Initiatives include 5,000-euro MOVES subsidy for purchase of new electric vehicles

Catalan executive follows other political institutions around the world in committing itself to reaching environmental goals set in 2017

International study by Carbon Disclosure Project highlights Catalan capital for its Climate Plan initiative

International body's air pollution coordinator stresses importance of local authorities in tackling effects of traffic on urban health

The eco-friendly liner is only the tip of the iceberg according to environmentalists

Union calls on young people in major cities to take part in environmental protest involving hundreds of thousands in 105 countries

Barcelona, Milan, Athens and Berlin jointly call for action from state authorities and EU to help deal with environmental issues

Meteorological conditions can alter our state of mind and behavior, says top Catalan psychiatrist

On the anniversary of the 1998 fire that destroyed 24,000 hectares, experts warn that the risk remains high

267,000 tonnes of food thrown away each year in Catalonia

Risk of forest blazes is “much higher” due to high temperatures, lack of rain, and heat waves caused by climate change

New legislation to impose taxation on activities causing pollution aims for reduction in emissions of 40% by 2030 and 100% by 2050

The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) on climate change is being held in Marrakech, Morocco, since the 7^th of November and will last until the 18^th. Although only UN member states can vote at the meeting, regional and local entities can participate. A Catalan delegation has travelled to the conference in the Moroccan city, and the Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull, will do so next weekend. The aim of the mission is to demonstrate Catalonia’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint. “Catalonia wants to lead the fight against climate change, we are doing things reasonably well and we want to be the benchmark in Europe”, Rull stated. Catalonia ratified the Paris agreement last April and the Catalan Parliament currently has as pending the approval of a law to combat global warming. 

The law will first charge those vehicles emitting more than 160 grams of CO2 per kilometre and in 2020 the bar will be set at a lower level. “This is a law of a country which is committed to the global challenge that humanity is facing” stated the new Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull. The aim is to reduce the level of emissions registered in 2005 by 25% before 2020 and “by 80% or even more” by 2050. Also this Tuesday, the 29 committees in the Catalan chamber for this term of office have been assigned presidents. 15 of them will be led by members of pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’, including the Committee for the Constitutive Process. Muriel Casals, former president of the cultural association promoting the Catalan language and culture, Òmnium Cultural, will be head of this committee set up to design the roadmap towards independence.

Catalonia "won't get anything" from a reform of the Spanish Constitution, on the contrary, "it will lead to frustration" assured current Catalan President, Artur Mas. "It is nonsense to suggest that Catalonia burns itself to flames by promoting a reform of the Spanish Constitution" as it will lead "to a dead end once again", assured Mas. He made these statements in response to the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) President, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, who urged the Parliament to propose concrete modifications of the Spanish Constitution in order to launch their demands rather than doing so by breaking the law. "We know that the Parliament has the right to propose constitutional reforms" stated Mas "but now it is not about rights, it is about politics, real politics" he assured. Mas made these declarations in Paris, where he was attending the Paris Climate Change Conference.