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Spain is seeking to enact a new law that increases the country’s carbon emission targets.
- The bill seeks to ban the sale of fossil powered cars by 2040.
- According to the bill, renewable energy is bound to produce over 70 per cent of all electricity in the country by 2030.
Last week, the Spanish parliament approved a clean energy bill aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and bans the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. The bill aims to implement measures to allow Spain to meet the European union’s clean energy targets. The bill also sets a 2030 target for a 23 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions than 1990 levels.
Fossil fuel extraction will also be limited by the new law, which looks to increase renewable energy contribution to 42 per cent of overall energy use and 74 per cent of electricity production. In two years, cities with a population of over 50,000 must have low-emission zones.
Read also: Germany Set to Increase its Carbon Emissions Target Following Court Ruling.
The law also limits all new coal, oil and gas extraction projects. It requires that by 2030, renewables account for 42 per cent of Spain’s total energy consumption and at least 74 per cent of its electricity production.
In a tweet after the vote, the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez noted that “for the planet, for our future and the next generations. From today, Spain has a climate law on which to build a green, sustainable, fair and prosperous future for all.”
Some still believe that the bill is not daring enough and that the country still needs to increase its emission targets to combat the climate emergency decisively.