The Republicans emphasize the importance of renewable energy and electric mobility in order to accomplish a more sustainable energy model

The acute threat of climate change and the devastating impact it will have on Earth makes it necessary to work on transformational policies to attain a more sustainable planet. For Esquerra Republicana, it is a priority to begin to establish new measures and strategies to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. The principle that inspires the party in dealing with this problem is clear: In the Face of the Climate Emergency, Republican Action.

In the context of the challenge we face in the energy transition, the European Union has championed the "Clean Energy for all Europeans" legislative package. Now is the time to build a sustainable Catalan energy model, with a distributed system throughout the territory to guarantee the country's energy sovereignty and the fight against climate change.

A national strategy for energy and a sustainable future includes the reduction of emissions of pollutants, the improvement of air quality, the commitment to 100% renewable energies, self-consumption, smart management networks and the democratization of the energy market, with fair pricing and free of monopolies, and the objective of changing people’s habits so as to achieve 'Zero Waste'.

In this context, Esquerra Republicana is working on 5 major measures:

1. Promotion of renewable energies

Renewable energy is the spearhead of the energy transition. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution declaring a climate and environmental emergency, and has set the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, and becoming climate neutral by 2050.

To make this possible, use of renewable energies must be bolstered in transport and air conditioning, and the presence of food-crop based biofuels progressively eliminated. It is also necessary to increase the proportion of local generation, along with the closure of nuclear plants, promoting widespread deployment in Catalonia of renewable technologies with different capacities. In this way, as well as reducing CO2 emissions, renewable energy will be the way forward and the alternative to nuclear power, which currently produces 55% of all electricity.

2. Cooperation between the administrations and society

Catalonia shows considerable consumer activism in the energy sector, but it is not articulated so as to offer operational mechanisms of participation. Esquerra strives to strengthen the link between the public administrations and society, for example with the current process in which we are drafting a Catalan Energy Transition bill which will be made public in a few months.

The procedure of passing a new law should in fact be the subject of public debate, especially since we already have a Climate Change Law that already provides sufficient coverage to move forward specifically on measures aimed at reducing emissions and increasing the penetration of renewable energies.

Furthermore, the creation of centres for regional cooperation between Member States is necessary in order to be able to help each other meet the requirements for the operation of competitive markets.

3. Placing consumers at the centre of the new electricity market

The energy transition will only be possible with the active participation of the consumer. The social and economic structure—mainly SMEs [in Catalonia]—can easily be adapted to this model provided that a competitive energy cost is achieved. If you cannot compete in energy, you must be able to act on all other cost factors. Among these is, for example, the transaction costs (permits, time for authorizations, etc.) that are the sole responsibility of Catalonia’s Generalitat government.

This is one of the pillars of the European energy policy adopted in the CEP (Clean Energy for All Europeans) package, which means consumer participation should be critical in combining distributed resources—demand management, batteries, self-consumption—in the figure of the aggregator. In this way, a single entity can participate in different markets and accrue economies of scale that will enable active consumer participation.

4. Combating energy poverty

For Esquerra Republicana, one of the most urgent measures is to eradicate energy poverty. Although Catalonia has its own Energy Poverty Law, there are several aspects that must be further regulated.

A broader view of energy poverty leads us to require energy transition equity as a necessary condition. Changing the energy model must not generate a breach between those who have sufficient purchasing power to invest in renewable resources or pay incremental pollution rates (fuel, parking, toll roads into cities, etc.) and those who have not.

So a first step is to guarantee equal opportunities by combining real—unsubsidised—price signals with redistributive measures. Public investment must reach those segments of society that are not able to make the investments themselves.

5. Encouraging electric mobility

Electric mobility is one of the measures that more and more cities are incorporating in their policy proposals. In Catalonia, transport represents more than 42% of overall energy consumption, and of that, it is light vehicles that are from a technical point of view most easily electrified.

In that sense, private electric vehicles are an opportunity to take vehicles off the streets in cities. The recharging of these vehicles should be centred on private premises and underground car parks, and not on public roads. But to achieve this, electrification of car parks in residential districts and private premises must be envisaged and favoured by combining financing, taxation and joint planning measures with the distribution grid operators.