The transition towards a sustainable economy and environmental policies not only come from Brussels, but have also taken hold in the policies of European governments. Now in Spain, with a view to the next general elections on July 23, green proposals have been taken into consideration in the party programs. But not only do they mention sustainability to achieve decarbonization and achieve the goals proposed for 2050, but they have also chosen to use another strategy and the vast majority of the candidates decide to pursue sustainable projects to empower and give life to rural areas. of the country and thus, get the vote of empty Spain. From generating more employment, promoting tourism, promoting gender equality in the countryside, to fighting against depopulation and achieving a just transition.
For example, one of the parties that has the most clarity in its program is Sumar. That within it it has specific proposals such as the Just Ecological Transition (TEJ) that declare it as the process of reorganizing life in common, whose purpose is to guarantee a dignified life for all people “on a planet with limits already exceeded, that we share and that we are obliged to take care of for the next generations.” This plan wants to decarbonize the economic system and reduce the ecological footprint, move towards fair and sustainable territorial models that generate new cooperative relationships between the urban, rural and natural surroundings, among other points. Besides, they want to make the rural world attractive to its inhabitants “in which the population plays a central role in conservation and sustainability.”
Specifically, the party led by Yolanda Díaz wants to create a public fund for investment in renewable energies to “contribute so that the construction process of renewable energies is also an instrument that allows a better structure for the country and contributes to the demographic challenge of fixing population in the Empty Spain” and the rural world. The document also contains a national strategy for just hydrological transition that ensures productive security in the rural world: alive; an agri-food sector that advances towards food sovereignty, agroecology, sustainable fishing and public policies committed to that horizon.”
For its part, Vox is the most denier of ‘green’ policies. In his program he has categorized the current measures of the Sánchez Government and the European Commission or Brussels as a “climate religion” and rejects all kinds of globalist projects such as those they propose. For this reason, it seeks to repeal the Climate Change Law with the aim of continuing to promote the exploitation of natural resources and thus protect producers and workers, especially those in rural areas. “It is no coincidence that rural Spain is becoming an emptied Spain. Pedro Sánchez’s policies have been aimed at demonizing the countryside and its way of life. Sánchez has used climate change as an excuse to impose increasingly harsh obstacles and green taxes on the primary sector that hinder its activity ”, they settle from the Santiago Abascal party.
“As a consequence, this sector, which feeds us and is the origin of products that are true national emblems, is condemned to disappear, rural areas are abandoned,” he adds. It is for this very reason that the party proposes other types of measures, not linked to sustainability, to give life to empty Spain. Among them, creating a National Water Plan, promoting the creation and growth of companies in the rural economy with tax incentives, reinforcing rural infrastructure, supporting farmers, defending harvesting as an essential activity for its “environmental and economic value” , the approval of a National Wolf Plan; suppress the General Directorate for Animal Rights; and strengthen rural tourism.
On the other hand, the Popular Party (PP) the depopulation of the rural world. To do this they want to develop environmental policies from a triple perspective of sustainability (environmental, economic and social): “Environmental sustainability and the fight against climate change are among the main challenges we face as a society,” they state. They will also promote the development of clean energy, and the rationalization and sustainability of the use of water and natural resources, helping the primary sectors and combating the depopulation of our rural world.
From aid for natural disasters in rural areas or renewable energy funds, to the inclusion of women and young people in the agricultural world
Thus the PP chooses to promote the rural and agri-food sector through sustainability. “We will work to promote the adaptation of the agri-food sector to the principles of the circular economy”, especially in the field of reducing food waste. They will also launch a plan against female unemployment in rural areas so that women farmers and ranchers can benefit and thus achieve the social edge of the ESG and create a more egalitarian system. They propose the development of carbon agriculture for the fight against climate change for which they will support farmers, ranchers and the food industry. In addition, they will face the problems of floods and climatic risks, which are generated mainly in rural areas.
Along these same lines, the PSOE also has a plan to combat natural catastrophes, and they would give support to the affected areas for their recovery. They will expedite the aid, they will pay special attention to the rural environment and to the municipalities with the smallest population and the aid: “The aid has to be more extensive when it is directed to less inhabited areas, and it is also necessary for the administrations to facilitate as much as possible the procedures for those local entities that have fewer resources”, they indicate. In addition, the Party led by Pedro Sánchez, thinks that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is an opportunity to promote trade in rural urban areas, because it will help promote the modernization, sustainability and digitalization of these media.
For this reason, in their program they will ensure that they will strengthen commercial activity, especially in rural areas and by maintaining specific aid to reinforce their activity and commercial distribution, betting on a more sustainable model (betting on reduction, reuse and recycling of materials). They will continue to provide resources and develop employability and job placement measures for women victims of gender violence in rural and urban environments, and will provide more access to training for rural areas with the aim of improving their professional qualifications and providing more opportunities for them to access to jobs within the framework of the double climate and digital transition, among other measures.
