climate

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

There has been a recent turn in British investment in Catalonia. While Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the United Kingdom in the region was on a downward trend between 2013 and last June, the situation has reversed and Catalonia currently accounts for 4,4% of British FDI in Spain. Indeed, Catalonia is the third territory of Spain in terms of volume of British FDI. Ahead of Catalonia, stand only Madrid and the Basque Country, which received, respectively, €3,258 and €828 million from the UK between 2013 and last June. In the same period, Catalonia received a gross flow of €546 million, according to the Barometer on the Climate and Perspectives for British Investment in Spain and Catalonia, a report that analyses the evolution of direct investment from British companies in Spain.

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. 

Carbon dioxide emissions by Catalan companies subject to EU regulation grew by 4% between 2013 and 2014, according to the report entitled “The Situation of the Worldwide Emissions of CO2”, and published by the Business and Climate Foundation, an organisation that works for an entrepreneur agreement on the fight against climate change. The figure is lower than the Spanish one, which increased by 7.2%. It is the first year that CO2 emissions have grown after many years of declining figures in Catalonia and one of the explanations given for the phenomenon by the author of the report, Arturo De las Heras, is the “reactivation of the economy after the closure of companies during recent years and the associated decrease in production”. Catalan companies emitted 13.5 million tons of CO2, which puts Catalonia in fourth place in the ranking among other Spanish regions, after Andalusia, Asturias and Galicia.