The devastation and death that DANA has left, notably in Valencia and Albacete, is a dire reminder that Spain, even if it looks away, is forced to adapt to the blows dealt by climate change. Adaptation means, as the UN explains, adjusting, preparing for the effects of a climate already modified by human-generated global warming. In the case of Spain, heatwaves, droughts or, of course, violent storms that trigger explosive floods.
The warning had been given for almost two decades. The preliminary assessment of impacts in Spain due to the effects of climate change prepared by the government dates back to 2005 and said: “Areas vulnerable to flooding are located near urban centers and tourist centers (especially in the Mediterranean).” and clarified that it would be necessary to “promote prevention supported by regulations that regulate construction in areas likely to be flooded, without developing sufficient protective measures”.
Planned climate change adaptation actions, the first evidence of which has already been observed, are considered absolutely necessary.
First national plan for adaptation to climate change (2006)
— Spanish Climate Change Office
The first National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (2006) clearly indicated that there was no other choice than to face this reality: “The actions to adapt to climate change which are planned and whose first evidence is already observed, are considered absolutely necessary. he declared. Because the fight against greenhouse gas emissions was “far from being achieved”. These measures should be “implemented at the national or sub-regional level, as impacts and vulnerabilities are specific to each location”. The DANA of October 2024 and the way it flooded the Valencian territory showed this analysis.
This plan warned that “adapting to climate change, by its very nature, requires a sustained medium- to long-term strategy.” However, until now, “adaptation is the forgetting of the forgotten.” Adapting doesn’t sell,” says María José Caballero, Greenpeace campaign director. In fact, the sixth report on local policies to combat climate change found that only 28% of the municipalities analyzed had adaptation plans (compared to 71% with emissions reduction plans).
“Floods constitute the natural risk with the greatest economic and social impact that can be generated in a short time. » This is the sentence that appears in the first impact assessment carried out by the Spanish Office for Climate Change in 2005.
Late? “Absolutely yes”
Is Spain behind in adapting to the damage that climate change is known to inflict? “Of course. Absolutely yes,” replies the director of the New Water Culture Foundation, Julia Martínez, at least with regard to the mitigation of floods like the one that has just ravaged Valencia.
Martínez supports his statement by randomly recalling how the Minister of Development of the Region of Murcia, José Ramón Díez de Revenga, asked the government in 2022 to withdraw its flood zone maps because they paralyzed building permits or that the The regional executive itself had approved. This year, an exception to build in flood-prone areas with certain requirements. “They are just a drop in an ocean of irresponsibility and delay when it comes to taking climate change adaptation seriously and that means putting economic interests ahead of people’s safety” , says Julia Martínez.
It’s not that government officials don’t know what they’re talking about. They themselves responded in the local policy report that “the threats reported by the municipalities surveyed primarily highlight extreme temperatures, followed by droughts, floods and storms”.
María José Caballero affirms that “adaptation is done with voluntary agreements, which relegates it to the last rank”. And he continues: “It is difficult for us to find good examples of adaptation. We saw it in Barcelona and Alicante, but it costs. Only 5% of the territory of cities is well permeabilized so that water does not flow later as we saw in this DANA. Because, as the latest version of the National Adaptation Plan (2020) reminds us, “floods are also favored by large impermeable urban areas, which prevent infiltration and promote runoff”.
Some adaptation actions are costly and time-consuming to implement, but it is urgent to launch them. We must act urgently to adapt our way of life to the new situation
Julia Martinez
— Director of the New Water Culture Foundation
Although adaptation is not limited to resisting flood waters – Spain must readjust to long periods of intense drought that impact agriculture and tourism or to extreme heat peaks that suffocate cities and towns. promote large forest fires – the tragedy of this last DANA focused on flooding. The 2021-2030 Adaptation Plan specifies that “reducing the risks linked to flooding” requires a series of points:
- The “improvement of observation systems aimed at providing early warning of extreme hydrometeorological phenomena”.
- Integrate the variable of climate change into flood risk management.
- The integration of risks and adaptation to climate change in territorial and urban planning: where buildings can be built or infrastructure erected.
- Creating incentives for risk prevention.
- Integrated disaster risk assessment taking into account climate change projections and scenarios: Remember that the climate crisis will make the situation worse.
- Train “communities at risk” – populations – so that they can actively participate in how to prevent and confront this danger.
He then emphasizes that “as part of the adaptation measures to the risk of flooding, priority will be given to actions aimed at recovering the morphology and natural dynamics of the canals and promoting solutions based on nature”.
Julia Martínez summarizes that “some adaptation actions are costly and take time to carry out, but it is urgent to start them. We must act immediately to adapt our way of life to the new situation.
