Andalucía climate strategy: 96% of municipalities launch action plans while €5m subsidy deadline nears

ANDALUCÍA is leading the way in environmental planning, with 96% of the region's municipalities now operating under dedicated climate change action plans.

Out of 785 towns, 756 have successfully implemented strategies covering mitigation, adaptation, and communication. The regional government (Junta) has specifically targeted smaller municipalities (fewer than 50,000 residents) to ensure they are integrated into the province's wider green strategy.

Among the most populated municipalities, the cities of Cordoba, Granada, Huelva and Cadiz and the towns of Chiclana de la Frontera, El Ejido, Estepona, Benalmádena, Torremolinos and La Línea de la Concepción already have these plans in place.

Meanwhile Alcalá de Guadaíra's plan is in process and Ronda's has been completed, according to data from the regional ministry for the environment and sustainability.

Towns and cities are the priority due to their critical role in the fight against climate change, given their building density, lack of green spaces and traffic congestion.

All are factors that significantly impact air quality, public health and the physical and mental well-being of those who reside in these locations.

To develop these plans, the department headed by regional minister Catalina García is keeping the application window open until 4 March for local councils to request grants from monies set aside for this purpose, totalling five million euros.

Urban areas are vulnerable to climate change and a rise in temperature of 2C to 4.5C by 2050 is forecast for them, increasing to 5.5C by the end of this century in the worst-case scenarios.

This is according to the latest report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which paints a picture of a future with longer periods of drought, more extreme temperatures and more severe weather events by mid-century (2041-2070). These effects are already being felt with heatwaves and torrential rains in recent years.

These local climate plans are a fundamental tool in the comprehensive response that the Junta is promoting in this area.

Since 2021, Andalucía's climate action plan (PAAC) has been developing this strategy, encompassing mitigation and adaptation policies that have mobilised more than 2.6 billion euros of investment through 231 measures in just three years.

This plan involves all the Junta's regional ministries with the aim of moving towards a resilient model, capable of protecting its strategic sectors, its natural environment and the well-being of the people in the face of this climate phenomenon.

Andalucía already has a 'regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory', which allows for monitoring the evolution of emissions by sector and adjusting the mitigation policies of local councils through their active participation in the overall strategy.

The region also has a 'catalogue of climate change adaptation measures' that, with a multi-sectoral approach, includes the main specific and adapted measures that can be adopted in key sectors such as agriculture, water management, tourism, public health, conservation of the natural environment and urban infrastructure.