Spain's PP opens door to Sánchez climate pact, but trust is thin

PP open to negotiating the climate pact: smokescreen or necessity?

Spain's Popular Party (PP) has decided to sit down and examine the national climate emergency pact proposed by Pedro Sánchez. But neither the opposition nor the analysts believe it. The proposal, launched in the middle of a wave of wildfires and after days of absence by the prime minister, has been met with a scepticism that goes beyond ideological differences. The PP already signed a declaration with similar goals alongside every party except Vox in 2024, which for many makes the gesture look less than new.

The precedents: a declaration already signed in 2024

The proposed pact is not the first attempt at a climate agreement. In 2024, the PP, PSOE and the rest of the parties (except Vox) signed a similar declaration of intent. That document came to nothing. Now, with wildfires ravaging the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Sánchez is pushing for a grand national agreement. The PP, for its part, calls it a "smokescreen" and demands concrete detail. The shadow of a "PPSOE" hangs over any rapprochement: the perception that the two parties end up agreeing on the same things generates rejection among broad sectors of the public.

The economic backdrop: green taxation and rural concentration

Behind the announcement lurks green taxation. The debate over carbon taxes and the 2030 Agenda has seeped into the discussion. Several analyses suggest the pact would serve to channel budget lines under the climate umbrella, creating new administrative boondoggles. At the same time, pressure on rural Spain is intensifying: bureaucratic costs and offers to install solar panels are emptying villages and concentrating land in the hands of large capital. Green taxation, far from being neutral, has redistributive effects that cause concern.

Climate shelters and other concrete measures

Among the announced measures, Sánchez has promised a nationwide network of climate shelters in public buildings before next summer. He has also repeated the creation of an interministerial commission, although a similar one was already set up in 2018. The 2026 wildfires have exposed the lack of material resources in regions such as Galicia, Castilla y León and Extremadura, according to complaints from the PP's regional presidents. The urgency clashes with the distrust.

The bottom line: a conditional commitment

Until a concrete text emerges, the only certainty is that the climate debate has been hijacked by political distrust. The PP sits at the table, but with its hand on the brake. If the pact goes ahead, it will be a new chapter of the same story: two big parties that need each other but do not trust each other. And the climate, meanwhile, keeps burning.