Spain Leading the Way with Eco-Friendly Home Plan
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 12.12.07
Image courtesy of guillaumepaumier
Few governments have made climate change as high a priority as Spain's Socialist administration. Having already pushed the envelope with its worldbeating solar and wind industries, Spain has just unveiled an ambitious green home plan aimed at encouraging people to make their homes more eco-friendly.
In his announcement made on Monday, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pledged that his government would give out 1 billion euros (or $1.47 billion) in direct subsidies over a 4-year period - beginning in 2008 - enough to revamp about 500,000 homes. Moreover, it will also hand out 2 billion euros in credit every year to help people boost their home energy efficiency by 35 to 60% and will release 200 million euros to improve efficiency in public buildings in cities whose populations number more than 50,000 residents.
Like most countries to have signed onto the Kyoto protocol, Spain has fallen far short of meeting its obligations to cut its emissions - its carbon dioxide output last year was 48% higher than in 1990 (it had originally pledged to check the rise at or below 15%). In a belated attempt to move closer to its lofty goal, Spain's government approved measures over the summer to conserve the equivalent of 88m tons of oil from 2008 to 2012.
Via ::Reuters: Spain unveils green home plan to beat global warming (news website)
See also: ::Spain: Renewable Energy Powerhouse, ::Water Management in Spain Goes Digital, ::Venus Albir, the First Eco Hotel in Spain
Maybe with a new administration we'll start seeing something happen in this country as well....Here's to hoping.
The current socialist government in Spain has been doing a lot for the environment including:
- Making it mandatory for all new buildings to use solar hot water heaters
- Subsidizing the installation of PV panels by up to 60%
- Guaranteeing an income of 40c per kWh is you sell PV or wind power back to the grid.
Wow! just like here!
now all we need is the Europeans to stop puffin on cigarettes 24-7-365, can't imagine all them are too good for the environment...
wow,
never too late to jump in head first! Kisses to Spain! Hopefully the love will spread all over! I'm sending out undying hope!!!