The increasingly pressing effects of climate change are already forcing the creation of new mechanisms to protect the population in Spain. Global warming not only has consequences on health or the environment but also has a full impact on people’s social situation, as demonstrated by the super destructive DANA that hit Valencia and Albacete three weeks ago. The Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, has announced a social protection plan for situations that will be more frequent from now on, according to scientific consensus.
It will have three parts, has been advanced in an appearance at the Joint Commission for the Coordination and Monitoring of the Spanish Strategy to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals): an analysis and diagnosis of how climate change affects situations of vulnerability, a reinforcement of social services to address situations such as the one caused by DANA, and the incorporation of social protection measures into the State’s actions against climate change.
“Global warming is aggravating structural inequalities and with this plan we are going to provide a social response to this challenge,” said the minister. Two examples are enough, outlined by Bustinduy. Almost half of the people killed by DANA were over 70 years old, although they only represent 15% of the population of the 28 affected municipalities. Furthermore, of the more than 700 municipalities at risk from river flooding in Spain, 42% have a rate of population at risk of extreme poverty higher than the national average.
The Government has deployed an aid package of almost 15,000 million euros to finance the reconstruction of homes and support companies, the self-employed and municipalities hit by DANA. This “shield” includes the transfer of 50 million euros to city councils to strengthen their social services to deal with the situations of “sudden poverty” expected after the floods, according to the Ministry of Social Rights.
A direct grant of five million euros was also allocated for the Third Sector Platform, which brings together 28,000 entities in Spain, many of which are working on the ground; 700,000 euros for the General Council of Social Work and its State Group for Intervention in Social Emergencies; and another 490,000 for entities that care for lost or abandoned animals whose infrastructure has been damaged.
#Climate #change #affects #health #environment #Bustinduy #advances #social #protection #plan
