Deadly wildfires show Spain must better prepare for climate crises, says Sánchez
Speaking during a visit to the south-western region of Extremadura on Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez said that while the record-breaking 16-day heatwave that had fanned the flames was over, 'difficult hours' lay ahead as firefighters continue to battle huge blazes across north-west Spain.
The prime minister said the wildfires – and last year's disastrous floods in the eastern region of Valencia – were clear proof that the climate emergency was hitting Spain harder and harder each year.
'We need to prepare and be better equipped with mechanisms and tools so that we can mitigate the effects of these climate emergencies when they happen,' he said. 'The climate emergency is getting worse and more recurrent each year, and the effects of that emergency are accelerating each year.'
Sánchez said that when he had spoken to people affected by the fires, they had told him that they expected a sustained and non-ideological approach to the climate emergency that went beyond four-year governmental terms.
'For all the scientific predictions about how the climate emergency would apparently evolve, we're seeing that it's getting worse and hitting much harder each year, particularly across the Iberian peninsula,' he said. 'We need to readjust and recalibrate both our response and prevention capacities.'
The prime minister, who has already called for a 'state pact' to address the climate emergency, said he would outline his plan early next month.
'If the climate emergency is getting worse each year, we need to move beyond legislatures and turn climate emergency policies into state policies that bind all our institutions and all those that govern,' he added.
The response to the wildfires across many of Spain's self-governing regions has been beset with familiar political arguments. The opposition conservative People's party (PP) has accused Sánchez of touting the pact as a means to deflect criticism of what it claims has been his poor handling of the crisis.
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'State pacts don't put out the flames, nor do they restore what's been lost,' a PP spokesperson said on Monday. 'People were expecting a lot more than a smokescreen designed to save his reputation after he'd gone missing for a week.'
The PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said the prime minister had ignored repeated calls for more troops to be sent to the hardest-hit areas and had failed to invest sufficiently in prevention.
'Sánchez's duty is to send help, not to skimp and always improvise,' he said on Tuesday.
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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Deadly wildfires show Spain must better prepare for climate crises, says Sánchez
The wildfires that have devoured 373,000 hectares of land in Spain and killed four people underscore the need to 'readjust and recalibrate' the country's preparation and response capacities as part of a sustained, non-partisan effort to tackle the impacts of the climate emergency, the prime minister has warned. Speaking during a visit to the south-western region of Extremadura on Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez said that while the record-breaking 16-day heatwave that had fanned the flames was over, 'difficult hours' lay ahead as firefighters continue to battle huge blazes across north-west Spain. The prime minister said the wildfires – and last year's disastrous floods in the eastern region of Valencia – were clear proof that the climate emergency was hitting Spain harder and harder each year. 'We need to prepare and be better equipped with mechanisms and tools so that we can mitigate the effects of these climate emergencies when they happen,' he said. 'The climate emergency is getting worse and more recurrent each year, and the effects of that emergency are accelerating each year.' Sánchez said that when he had spoken to people affected by the fires, they had told him that they expected a sustained and non-ideological approach to the climate emergency that went beyond four-year governmental terms. 'For all the scientific predictions about how the climate emergency would apparently evolve, we're seeing that it's getting worse and hitting much harder each year, particularly across the Iberian peninsula,' he said. 'We need to readjust and recalibrate both our response and prevention capacities.' The prime minister, who has already called for a 'state pact' to address the climate emergency, said he would outline his plan early next month. 'If the climate emergency is getting worse each year, we need to move beyond legislatures and turn climate emergency policies into state policies that bind all our institutions and all those that govern,' he added. The response to the wildfires across many of Spain's self-governing regions has been beset with familiar political arguments. The opposition conservative People's party (PP) has accused Sánchez of touting the pact as a means to deflect criticism of what it claims has been his poor handling of the crisis. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion 'State pacts don't put out the flames, nor do they restore what's been lost,' a PP spokesperson said on Monday. 'People were expecting a lot more than a smokescreen designed to save his reputation after he'd gone missing for a week.' The PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said the prime minister had ignored repeated calls for more troops to be sent to the hardest-hit areas and had failed to invest sufficiently in prevention. 'Sánchez's duty is to send help, not to skimp and always improvise,' he said on Tuesday.
The Independent
8 hours ago
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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
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Plot to raise hundreds more flags on England's streets: Army of patriotic 'Operation Raise the Colours' activists vow to defy council bans with St George's Cross displays
An army of patriotic campaigners have vowed to continue putting up England and Union Jack flags despite council workers ripping them down. A drive to cover British towns and cities in national flags is being coordinated by an online movement called Operation Raise the Colours. Patriotic activists are using a Facebook page to help gather flags together - with members chipping in with offers of transport and equipment, such as ladders. One user posted: '60 of the 120 just collected... going to be a busy few evenings.' A second wrote: 'I just feel that the time has come to all band together and refuse to be bullied, we are proud of our country and should not be made to feel otherwise.' It comes as the Prime Minister backed the public's right to fly St George's flags after furious locals thwarted a second council's efforts to remove them from lampposts. Council workers in Tower Hamlets were met with abuse as they began to tear down England and Union Jack flags which were hung from street lampposts by patriotism campaigners. Birmingham City Council provoked a major backlash last week by announcing it would begin removing hundreds of similar flags from the city's streets for 'safety reasons'. Critics have pointed out that Palestine flags were left to fly in parts of Birmingham and the east London borough - which both have large Muslim populations - for months without being challenged by authorities. Operation Raise the Colours has led to communities across the country hanging up flags on their streets, including Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich and the Isle of Wight, in defiance of council bans. Group members have vowed to redouble their efforts and rejected criticism the movement is 'aggressive'. 'There`s nothing aggressive about flying a flag!' Tony Johnson wrote. 'It`s a banner, an emblem and a sign of patriotism, nothing more!' Downing Street yesterday backed the flying of the national flags, although stopped short of commenting on individual cases such as the disputes in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets. Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman said: The PM has always talked about his pride in being British, his will always be an important thing to him.' Asked if Sir Keir was supportive of people putting up English flags, his spokesman said: 'Absolutely. We put up English flags all around Downing Street every time the English football team, women's and men's are out, trying to win games for us.' There were fractious scenes on the streets of Tower Hamlets yesterday (MON) when a small team of council cleaners began to cut down England flags from lampposts. The authority is led by Lutfur Rahman of the pro-Palestine Aspire Party, and previously refused to remove hundreds of Palestine flags that were hanging from lamp posts and council buildings in the borough so as not to 'destabilise community cohesion'. Mr Rahman - who was previously found guilty of electoral fraud - finally ordered them to be removed last year after Jewish locals complained they were intimidating and divisive. But when the cleaners began to remove the England flags yesterday morning, they found themselves on the receiving end of abuse from passersby. 'This is a f***ing joke,' one driver shouted, adding: 'We're going put them back up anyway.' The flags could be seen dumped in a pile in the back of a refuse lorry being driven by the cleaners One of the cleaners, who gave his name only as Tyrone, told the Mail: 'I was sent here by my managers to take these flags down. 'I don't know the significance of these flags but I've been taking them down and getting abuse by people who are telling me to 'leave it'. 'They ask me 'what has Britain become?' 'don't take them down' and 'the mayor's a w****r' 'But I'm just doing my job and I'm not going to let them hinder me from what I am doing.' He said they were having to abort their operation and would try again in the early hours in the hope the abuse would be more muted. One disgruntled local, who claimed he was among a group of around 20 residents responsible for erecting the flags along Marsh Wall road, demanded all the flags be returned to him - including those already been thrown into the refuse lorry. The man, who would not provide his name, was seen angrily remonstrating with the cleaners' manager and threatening to report him for 'theft'. He said: 'You're on the frontline being made to look like a complete and utter idiot after the whole of the Isle of Dogs has paid for these flags to be hung. That's theft!' In Birmingham, there was little sign that the council had made any headway removing the hundreds of Union Jacks and St George's Flags when the Mail yesterday the neighbourhoods at the centre of the row. A small group calling themselves the 'Weoley Warriors' have hung scores of flags across neighbourhoods in the south of the city including Northfield, including Weoley Castle, Northfield, Selly Oak and Bartley Green. Describing themselves as a 'group of proud English men with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements', the Weoley Warriors have so far raised more than £10,000 online to fund their efforts. The men behind the group keep their faces hidden in their social media posts but have vowed to replace any flags that the council succeed in cutting down. There were other displays of DIY patriotism in nearby Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, where one resident was filmed painting a St George's Cross on a white mini-roundabout. In viral social media footage, the man can be seen finishing his work just as a police car pulls up nearby. A spokesman for Tower Hamlets council said: ' We are aware members of the public have been putting up St George's flags on various structures,' the spokesman said. 'While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. 'Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance.' Susan Hall, the head of the Conservative group in the London Assembly and a former candidate for London mayor, called the decision to remove the flags 'outrageous'. 'They've allowed Palestinian flags to fly there - why on earth are they taking England flags down?' she told the Daily Mail. 'If they accept other flags going up, why can't they allow British ones?' Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the council had got itself into an 'unnecessary mess'. 'The Cross of St George is part of the Union flag. British flags should be allowed to be put up because this is Britain,' he told the Daily Mail. 'The accusation is they leave some flags up but want you to take down flags that are relevant to the UK. 'They need to make it clear what the rules are and apply them to everyone.
