Speech by the President of the Government of Spain at the launch of the Climate Shelter Network, as part of the State Pact on the Climate Emergency

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Well, thank you very much, dear Sara, dear Vice-president. And, of course, to ministers Mónica and Elma. Secretary of State for the Environment. Also, Cristina Narbona, one of the women who has long been working across many different fields to raise awareness and take action on the climate emergency.

And also the president of the Committee on Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge in the Lower House of Parliament, dear Cristina. All other officials, ladies and gentlemen,

I believe that right now many Spaniards are looking anxiously towards the horizon; they see flames drawing closer to their towns, leave their homes without knowing when they might return, and await news from the teams battling the fire. I would therefore like to dedicate my opening remarks to all of them - to the families evacuated from their homes and to those who remain in lockdown. And, of course, to the professionals who are literally risking their lives on the ground. Let there be no doubt: the full force of the State - led by the General State Administration - stands with them.

What we are witnessing is not merely a series of isolated incidents. It is - as has been said before - the most painful manifestation of a climate emergency that makes "sixth-generation" fires more voracious, heatwaves more frequent and our territory, consequently, more vulnerable. This is no longer the exception; it has become the rule: summers that are increasingly difficult, destructive, and - as a result - deadly.

So far in 2026, fires have ravaged around 150,000 hectares - 150,000 hectares in our country - and, sadly, 13 people have lost their lives. And the number of heat-related deaths in Spain is estimated to be more than 3,800. I therefore believe the evidence is clear, as Vice-president Sara Aagesen said earlier: the climate emergency kills. And that is why it is not enough simply to deal with the consequences - which we do; we need to tackle the root causes, anticipate the effects and, consequently, better prepare our country to protect people's lives.

Since we took office as the Government of Spain, we have been working to speed up the energy transition. The first decision we made back in 2018 was to issue a declaration of a climate emergency at the Council of Ministers. But, as I mentioned earlier, since taking office, we have worked to accelerate the energy transition, adapt our territory and protect our population. I believe the Spain of 2026 is far more committed - and certainly much more aware - regarding the fight to mitigate and adapt to the climate emergency than the Spain of 2018 was. Are we better prepared? We are indeed better prepared. And the vast majority of our society is, without a doubt, far more aware of the scale of the challenge we face.

We have undoubtedly made progress, but it is clear that we must redouble our efforts, because, reality is consistently outpacing scientific projections year after year. As our preparedness and awareness grow, so too does the magnitude and scale of the threat we face.

We also know that protection against the climate emergency is not equally available to everyone - as experts have previously pointed out. We are all vulnerable to the climate emergency at some point, and consequently, the climate crisis hits the most vulnerable hardest. And all of us can be vulnerable to the climate emergency at some stage in our lives. Those with the fewest resources to cope with this climate emergency are undoubtedly the most affected: our elderly, our children, those who work while exposed to high temperatures, and, of course, those suffering from chronic illnesses.

For all of them, extreme heat and high temperatures are not simply an inconvenience they have to put up with; they are a risk to their health and, therefore, to their wellbeing. Let us consider the example of our children. In the final days of the school year, as you know, certain representatives of the Community of Madrid downplayed complaints from families and students regarding high temperatures in classrooms. And we must say this loud and clear: if temperatures rise to the point where, for example, a classroom reaches 30 degrees, it is simply not possible to study or learn effectively. And when temperatures keep rising, it is not even safe to stay there.

Therefore, in the face of extreme heat, the duty of institutions - of all public institutions - cannot be to make excuses or deny the evidence. What we need to do is adapt our schools to protect our children. That is why the Government of Spain has allocated more than one billion euros from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Funds - known as the NEXT Funds - to refurbish public buildings. More than one billion euros. And last month at the Council of Ministers - as the Vice-president reminded me - we approved an additional 200 million euros from the National Energy Efficiency Fund to retrofit and install heating and cooling systems in classrooms - in short, in the schools and educational centres where our students learn.

It may be easy to downplay the heat when you have the privilege of living and working in air-conditioned spaces or can retreat to a second home with a private pool. But that is not the reality for millions of families in our country.

We are all vulnerable to the heat, but not everyone is affected by it in the same way.

And that is why, when we work to reduce, for example, electricity bills, we do so to ensure that no family is afraid to switch on the air conditioning for fear of the cost. When we promote housing renovation or urban renewal policies - as has been mentioned here - and improve energy efficiency or urban environments (as the Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz has done, for example), our goal is to ensure that homes - and ultimately, our cities - serve as shelters rather than heat traps.

That is also the spirit behind the measures we are presenting today. They align with the need - which I have addressed whenever possible in recent days, and will continue to address - to speak about wildfires and call for public awareness, as well as awareness among other public institutions. We must recognise the imperative - not only moral but also regarding safety and other issues - for public institutions, political forces, and social stakeholders to forge a major national agreement, a State pact, to tackle the climate emergency. This is the State-level agreement we launched in September 2025 - an initiative born of an unprecedented situation that was, unfortunately, surpassed in severity in 2026 due to the wildfires, high temperatures and heatwaves we endured last year.

Today, as mentioned in the video, we are advancing the eighth of our 15 strategic pillars - focusing on the health of our fellow citizens in the context of the climate emergency - and decisively launching the National Network of Climate Shelters. Furthermore, Madam Vice President, I believe it sets a powerful example for the General State Administration to lead by example, opening its doors and facilities to serve as climate shelters for those in need. We have also approved further funding of 10 million euros to finance new shelters, including those in educational centres. And I urge local authorities, autonomous communities and provincial councils to likewise place their public infrastructure at the service of these climate shelters. In doing so, we are prioritising vulnerability criteria to ensure that age, financial resources and the lack of green spaces - as mentioned earlier - do not act as barriers in the face of this climate emergency.

Well, I think our country is well aware of the importance of adapting to the climate. For centuries, the architecture of our villages and towns found simple, ingenious ways to protect us from the heat. Thick walls that kept the building cool, narrow streets that provided shade, courtyards that encouraged ventilation, white façades that reflected the sun, and our much-loved shutters and awnings, which are now beginning to be seen as a model to follow in other parts of Europe as well.

I say all this because that wisdom is part of our history and can also help us build our future. We want to bring these concepts to today's cities and towns, combining them with innovation, knowledge and new urban solutions, such as those presented here earlier.

That is why we are going one step further with additional funding of 9 million euros aimed at developing and consolidating green infrastructure. This investment will enable progress in urban renaturalisation, among other things, and will strengthen our cities' preparedness for the ecological transition.

And, incidentally, Madam Vice-president, in accordance with the mandate set out in the national agreement of the State Pact on the climate emergency. Tomorrow we will be presenting a very important measure to the Council of Ministers, one that has been called for by civil society, which, as the Vice-president mentioned earlier, played an active role in drawing up this agreement. We will put forward to the Council of Ministers a proposal to set up this Scientific Panel for Action on the Climate Emergency. An advisory body comprising some of the finest researchers in our country. Their role will be to help us anticipate the risks. Of course, this also involves evaluating public policies. And to guide decisions with rigour, independence and expertise.

Because, clearly, when faced with an emergency of this magnitude, improvisation is no use. Prejudices are of no use either - prejudices which, unfortunately, we are also seeing spread in the form of hoaxes on social media. What counts is evidence - scientific evidence and data.

I would like to conclude by thanking, of course, the experts for taking part in this talk, in this symposium. Of course, the Third Vice-president has also played a leading role in driving forward this network of climate resources in what I believe to be an absolutely record-breaking manner. Because I believe that these climate shelters, which are open to all members of the public, are a measure that is, of course, necessary, but they are not sufficient.

The situation we are facing calls for strategies that tackle the root of the problem in a structural way. Solutions that help build a safer, more liveable country - and, of course, one that is better equipped to face the challenges of the present and the future.

It requires an ongoing, systematic commitment, which embodies this State Pact to tackle the climate emergency that we presented in 2025.

I will never tire of calling on the other political parties and social partners, time and time again, to join this National Pact, because this really is a national priority. This really is a national priority that concerns us all. Because future generations will, of course, judge us on what we do now.

In the face of extreme weather events, a State Pact. In the face of inequality,

a State Pact. And in the face of denial and inaction, a State Pact. Because this battle, clearly, is not one that we can win through the Executive alone, or even through the individual social initiatives that NGOs - or, ultimately, civil society or the scientific community represented here - may undertake. It will be won by a united country. A United Europe. It will be won by a country and a society that are aware of what is at stake and are determined to protect their territory, their future and the lives of their people, both now and in the future.

Today we are taking another step along that path with this network of climate shelters. And I would like to end as I began, Madam Vice-president, by congratulating you and your team. And, of course, the rest of the ministries concerned. And I would like to assure you that, certainly, on the part of the Government of Spain, this commitment is not only consistent and coherent, but it is a conviction that we have that we can also see the climate emergency as a source of opportunities to improve everything that we have been suffering for many years and that, of course, with this we can guarantee, as Cristina Narbona tells me on many occasions, safe progress for our society.

Thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Original speech in Spanish

Non official translation