Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is seeking to classify climate change spending, along with the management of emergencies and natural disasters, as defence expenditure.
While western leaders gather in Copenhagen to craft a unified strategy against Russian aggression, the Spanish delegation is charting its own course.
Unlike his counterparts, who are rebuilding their armed forces, strengthening joint defence, procuring weapons and ammunition and significantly increasing defence budgets, Spain wants to direct its resources toward fighting climate change.
According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Madrid is pushing the notion that spending money on climate is investing in security, saying yesterday it was a “360º” security approach.
The Spanish PM also called the “fight against disinformation” part of the global security challenge.
Sánchez is said to be stressing that his country increased defence spending by 43.11 per cent, to reach the old and according to many, outdated 2 per cent of GDP spending norm, and is now pushing back against pressure from his NATO allies to spend more.
NATO allies have already decided to commit to spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence
Spain is allocating an additional €10.5 billion to defence and security in 2025 compared to the 2024 baseline.
Of that sum, €1,752 billion, or around 15 per cent, is intended to support the management of emergencies and natural disasters instead of to troops, ammunition or missiles.
Sánchez reportedly insisted that “climate change kills”.
His backers claim that in the past decade in Spain, the costs of the climate emergency has meant €30 billion in material losses and 20,000 lives lost.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, also a Social Democrat, said that “immigration and climate change” must be included in the security debate but she also is pleading to accelerate European rearmament.
Frederiksen issued a statement stressing that it was hugely important for Europe to take greater responsibility for its security. She added that “this requires” that the countries of the community “move from words to deeds and increase military and financial support for Ukraine”.
The Spansh focus on climate change stands in contrast to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s demand for a “drone wall” and Finnish PM’s Petteri Orpo’s call for solidarity from the south.
Internationally, it has led to Spain being left more isolated.
It was not included in the international coalition against drug trafficking in Venezuela and has been seriously warned by the US for its business with the Chinese technology company Huawei.
