Sánchez announces that Barcelona will hold the international meeting of the Global Alliance against Drought in 2024

   MADRID, 1 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that Barcelona will host in September 2024 the high-level international meeting to analyze national policies of the parties to the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), an initiative launched a year ago. year by Senegal and Spain to which some 60 countries have joined.

This was announced at a meeting on the Hydra initiative that was held within the framework of the XXVIII UN Climate Summit (COP28) that is taking place in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) until December 12.

Sánchez began his speech by referring to the drought that Catalonia is experiencing to explain why it is "very important" for Spain to be part of the alliance. In this regard, he has said that in Catalonia, the Garraf forests "are dying" because they cannot sustain "three years of lack of rain in the region of Catalonia", where 6 million people deal with this lack of precipitation.

However, he added that Catalonia is not an exception, since Andalusia "also" faces a drought that threatens the Doñana National Park.

"This is a global phenomenon that needs collective action and that is what we are working on through this alliance," said the president about the Alliance created between Senegal and Spain to face the challenge of drought.

Thus, he reported that one year after the launch of the alliance, during the COP27 in Egypt, "results" have been produced in its four strategic pillars. Specifically, he highlighted that it has been possible to "galvanize political support" and international awareness about the importance of improving resilience to drought, since some 60 countries and organizations have already joined IDRA. "I am sure that the Alliance will continue to grow," Sánchez confides.

In addition, he highlighted that IDRA has developed a list of investment typologies to improve resilience that will help in the design of new projects and is accelerating cooperation and knowledge exchange with new publications on technical and economic policies on rains and droughts, such as the 'Global Drought Snapshot'.

Sánchez explained that Spain has developed drought risk management plans, and initiatives and plans for national restoration of rivers and strategies for their reconnection that are aligned with climate plans. Likewise, he has cited the real-time monitoring system for meteorological rainfall that is available to everyone, in order to help other countries develop their early warning systems.

Likewise, he emphasized that the Alliance is developing a financial and innovative mechanism to provide new resources. "A lot has been done this year and now we have to recognize it," she celebrated.

For Sánchez, it is "time" to give more taxes to collaboration between banks and development cooperation agencies to promote effective transformation or transformative action. The president recalled that this year the Government announced a contribution of 200 million dollars; 125 million for the Green Climate Fund; another 20 million for the Adaptation Fund, which fundamentally has to do with the response to drought.

Specifically, he pointed out that Spain has committed to raising its climate financing objectives to 1,350 million euros per year from 2025.

"Human action that has altered natural cycles is also capable of reversing this train and preparing for the impacts," said Sánchez, who has invited countries that are not part of the initiative to join the alliance to contribute efforts. individual and collective.