Parallel Report on SPAIN concerning air pollution and climate change

The report details the health impacts of coal-fired power plants in Spain, specifically noting thousands of asthma and bronchitis cases in children. It criticizes the Spanish government for using EU derogations to allow higher emissions and for proposing a Royal Decree to hinder plant closures. Additionally, it highlights that Spain's greenhouse gas emissions in 2015 remained 16.6% higher than 1990 levels, with coal plants accounting for 60.3% of emissions from all combustion installations in 2015.

• Coal-fired power plants in Spain cause significant respiratory illness in children. A 2017 IIDMA study estimated that in 2014, emissions from these plants were linked to 10,521 cases of asthma symptoms in asthmatic children and 1,233 cases of bronchitis in children within Spain.
• The health impacts of Spanish coal plants extend beyond national borders. Data from 2015 indicates that emissions from these plants caused 68,613 asthma attacks in children both inside and outside of Spain.
• Spain has systematically utilized European Union legal derogations to allow its coal plants to exceed stricter emission limit values (ELVs). These include the Transitional National Plan, Limited Lifetime Derogation, and Small Isolated Systems Derogation, with all Spanish coal plants included in at least one such derogation.
• The Spanish government is actively working to prevent the closure of coal plants. In response to a company's application to close two plants in November 2017, the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Agenda Digital drafted a Royal Decree to make such closures 'very cumbersome' based on energy price and security of supply.
• Spain's greenhouse gas emissions profile is poor compared to other EU members. In 2015, Spanish emissions were 16.6% higher than the 1990 reference year, and the country is described as the EU member state where emissions have increased the most since 1990.
• Coal power plants are the dominant source of CO2 among Spain's combustion installations. In 2015, they were responsible for over 53,000 kilotonnes of CO2, representing 60.3% of the total emissions from all combustion installations in the country.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2017). Parallel Report on SPAIN concerning air pollution and climate change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CRC_Spain_ComplementaryReport_2017-12-15.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Parallel Report on SPAIN concerning air pollution and climate change. 2017. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CRC_Spain_ComplementaryReport_2017-12-15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Parallel Report on SPAIN concerning air pollution and climate change |date=15 December 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CRC_Spain_ComplementaryReport_2017-12-15.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2017parallel, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Parallel Report on SPAIN concerning air pollution and climate change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CRC_Spain_ComplementaryReport_2017-12-15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }