Spain

Asturias prepares the greatest experiment in Spain to reduce the day

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When the national debate seemed focused on (still stagnant) Reduction of the working day At 37.5 hours a week, Asturias has decided to step on the accelerator. The Principality government has launched the machinery to launch an experiment on the four -day work week in the region, a movement that resurrects one of the Conversations about the future of work in our country. The first step have already taken it. From the regional government They have already tendered The study that will serve as a road map in this ‘experiment’. The objective they have is clear: analyze the viability and The economic impact to implement a 32 week weekly day in the business fabric of the region. A necessary study to be a success. This study, which will have a value of 16,862 eurosan external consultant will be held. In its content, what is going to be collected will be the similar projects that have been made in other regions, with their failures and their mistakes. In this way, we will not try not to fall into the same stone again as other autonomous communities or other regions of the European Union. In addition, it will also identify the key sectors of the Asturian economy where it would be more feasible to apply this reduction in working hours, and especially where there will really be a benefit of having a four -day day. From there, the assessment of unions, employer and company will be collected to have a complete vision of the consequences that this measure can have. When it will be launched. Once the report has been launched in tender, the manager who manages to get him will have a period of three months to be able to collect all this information, so we can easily leave the next year. When you have all this information, it will be when the Government will propose to companies the possibility of joining this initiative. The main focus will be in the private company. Sources from the Ministry of Science, Industry and Employment They have detailed To El País that the objective will be the private company in this experiment. Although they will also analyze the viability in the public company. But what is clear is that participation will be voluntary, as detailed in the agreement signed between the regional government with the employer and the unions. In these same statementsthe Ministry suggests that this model make Asturias one of the first communities to apply this labor model, aspiring to be one of the greatest experiments in Spain in this area. All this because so far the projects that have come forward have focused on very specific areas of a province or have been a failure, as in the case of the Plan of the Ministry of Industry. The great debate: how will affect salary. Logic can mark that a reduction in the number of hours worked It also carries a reduction in monthly salary. But this is something that at the moment is not clarified in the position by the Principality. As they point out, there is a “varied casuistry” and that, in the absence of a national regulation, it is an “issue to negotiate in each labor relationship.” Precisely, the study that has been in charge will be focused on shedding light on how this problem with companies should be solved. There are a history in Spain. To see similar projects we can go to Valencia in the spring of 2023, where the City Council of the capital tested the four -day week turning on Mondays. The results In this case they were very positive, since an improvement in the well -being of employees was evidenced. Although he also had a negative impact on some businesses by losing this habitual clientele of Mondays. Nationally, the Ministry of Industry launched in 2022 With a budget of 10 million euros in grants A plan to reduce working hours. But it was a disaster, since Only 41 industrial SMEs requested participatingand finally, almost two years later, only five companies were approved, reducing the investment to 500,000 euros. In Spain the regulation will still take to arrive. Although the Council of Ministers I already gave green light To the legislative text that would come true to have a 37.5 hours day in Spain, you still have to wait. His passage through Congress is being torpedored, since for the moment does not have enough support To be published in the BOE. Although the reality is that although it seems A substantial changethere are many companies that collect it in their collective agreements and Other EU countries They have a day below what is raised. Images | Annie Spratt Miguel Ángel Sanz In Xataka | Face B of the four -day week: the problems that British essay companies found

China is living a fever for cherries and Spain wants to become its great garden. It will not be easy

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He was waiting, but the Spanish cherry has just received news that had been waiting for a while: China has opened the doors of Its gigantic market. After years of negotiation between Beijing and Madrid, the Asian giant has given green light to the export of fruits cultivated in Spain, an agreement that had already been profiled In spring but that has not resolved its last fringes so far. Now there are two other goods expecting: The pistachio and the dry fig. What happened? That one of the main markets of the world, the Chinese, has just opened to the Spanish cherry. And that is an important news for several reasons. First because that vast market is made up of more than 1.4 billion of potential consumers. Second because the Asian giant seems especially interested In this fruit, valued both for its taste and its cultural impact (it is considered a symbol of fortune, especially during the New Year), a demand that has been benefited until now especially Chile. But what has changed? Basically, that the General Administration of Customs of China (AGA) has given its definitive approval to exports of Spanish cherry. The news has been advanced by the department led by Luis Planas in A statement confirming that the Asian Administration has already published the registration of authorized establishments for the sending of fruit. “It puts an end to a complex negotiation process of several years”, stands out. The sector Trust in which the new protocol “expedite” its ability to export. Is it a novelty? Yes. And no. Beijing has just opened its doors, but the news will catch few by surprise. It was expected Since AprilWhen Planas and Chinese Customs Minister Sun Meijun signed several protocols for the export of pigs and cherries, agreements that add to the dozen of pacts signed since 2018 on sanitary requirements oriented to food export. To move from political theory to commercial practice there were nevertheless several pending procedures. In June, AGA technicians conducted an audit of plots and stores related to the export of cherries to confirm that they fulfill the sanitary protocol. Before, in 2024, a delegation sent by Beijing had already been in charge of visiting some producing areas of the country. Are the details known? Yes. The Government He has revealed Some details of the agreement signed with China. The closed protocol with Beijing, for example, that the phases of processing, packaging, storage and transport of the fruit that is exported to China is carried out “under the supervision” of the ministry. “This will also be responsible for ensuring that only the cherries of the registered orchards can enter the clothing warehouse for their selection and processed.” The agreement will be valid for three years and adds to the bilateral export pacts between Spain and China of those who already enjoy other crops, such as citrus, peach, plum, table grape, chaqui or almond. Among other merchandise, Chinese authorities also allow the sale of fodder oatmeal, olive paste and dehydrate alfalfa destined for animal feed. Soon the list could be extended even more. The Planas department acknowledges that, after closing the agreement for cherries, the files of two other products with roots in Spain continue to negotiate: The pistachio and dry figs. Why is it important? For several reasons. The cherry cultivation is not equally extended throughout Spain, but there are provinces in which it is relevant, such as Cáceres or Zaragoza. According to The latest statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2022 the production of cherry and icing of the country as a whole touched the 114,000 t, with a fundamental weight of Aragon (48,600) and Estremadura (40,000), followed quite distance in Catalonia (6,800), Andalusia (5,300) and Murcia (3,500). The sector expects the agreement with Beijing to expand its horizon. “It will open new possibilities for export to this fruit, whose culture has had an important development,” celebrated Already in April Pemex, the Federation of Producers of fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants. “The export of cherry from Spain in 2024 stood at 39,968 tons, the European Union being the first destination, with 33,440 T”. Among the extra -community markets stands out above all the United Kingdom, which received more than 5,700 tons, and South Africa and Hong Kong, with around one hundred tons each. Fruit shipments reached a value of 139 million euros. Will it have it easy? No. Although the agreement is good news for the Asian aspirations of the Spanish cherry, the truth is that it must compete in a complex market. According to the last forecasts collected by Produces reportit is expected that in the 2025/2026 season, which will last until March, the production of China cherries will grow 6% to 900,000 T, which demonstrates the bet within the country itself. One of the keys to that rebound is the increase in cultivated area, which during last season was around 199,000 ha. His high demand has led Beijing to use Chilean productionincreasingly focused on China. If in 2016 the South American country exported about 40,000 t of fruit to the Asian giant, in 2023 that figure had already fired until exceeding 370,000 t. At the beginning of the year the Xinhua agency He pointed out That during the last season Chile expert to the world more than 625,000 tons of fresh cherry, of which 568,000 left for China’s markets. Images | US Department of Agriculture (Flickr), Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra (Unspash) and Ok Apartment (Flickr) In Xataka | Extremadura promised them very happy with its powerful Spanish tomato industry. Until China arrived

If the question is whether a Moroccan truck driver can work in Spain, the answer is “yes, for 20 years”

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No tachograph and without speed limiter. Thus circulates the truckers who, from Morocco, can already work in Spain since last year when the government reached a bilateral agreement with the Moroccan executive so that its workers can operate in Spain. Without tachograph and without speed limiter but, obviously, with the obligation to comply with the laws in force in our country and also to pass a practical exam. What is true in the information that aimed at unfair competition in the transport of goods arrived from Morocco? The complaints. “His trucks have no speed limit” and “the Civil Guard turns a blind eye.” They are some of the phrases that can be read in the articles that point to an alleged unfair competition from Morocco. Specifically, that of Moroccan truckers who now have more facilities to operate in Spain. As read in media such as The debatesome transport associations emphasize that we are facing an illegality because their trucks have no speed or tachograph limit. In the article they complain that they do have to comply with the law but that “neither the DGT nor the Civil Guard stop them.” And that when this happens they do not pay their infractions because they declare themselves insolvent. Those complaints have also Shared some carriers that use their social networks to show their day to day and explain how their work works. Can a Moroccan truck driver work in Spain? Yes. And “there is no change since 2004,” they assure us from the DGT. “No, we are not giving away carnés from truck drivers to Moroccans,” they assure us from traffic and refer to the current regulations since 2004 When both countries signed an agreement for the partial validation of the driver’s bonds between the two countries. Then it was confirmed that those who had a current driving license in Morocco could drive in Spain. In the case of licenses C, C+E, D and D+e, a theoretical test and another practice were forced. Since 2024, that has changed and the proof is exclusively practical since “taking into account that said test is not required as a general requirement in all of the driving permits arrange How to read in the text that reflects the normative change. What’s new? Little thing, really. What has been done has been slightly flexible the regulations already in force but, as we say, those who aspire to work as truck drivers in Spain continue to have a practical test. The normative change also reflected the possibility of doing the online process instead of going to a traffic office. Once the permission is validated after the practical test on open road, the worker has to Get the Professional Aptitude Certificate (CAP). Are there more countries in this situation? Yes, many more. You can read the complete list on this DGT link. In it you can verify how citizens of some countries have to pass practical evidence, such as Moroccans or Hondurans. Guatemalans or Filipinos have to pass an additional specific exam. However, there are countries outside the European Union, such as Japan, the United Kingdom or New Zealand that have a Blanca Carta for their workers to receive an automatic validation of the driving license, whether individual or professional individuals. They do not have to pass theoretical or practical evidence. Is it true that their trucks have no tachograph? Yes, it’s true. The breaks are regulated in this case by the Circular instruction 01/2016 on tachograph and driving and rest times. It is specified in the document that will be applied “regardless of the country where the vehicle is enrolled.” How do you control then? Moroccan drivers are obliged to demonstrate that they have rested, at least 9 hours in the 24 hours prior to their entry into Spain, as specified in the International Road Transport Agreement and Merchandise Signed on October 3, 2012 between Morocco and Spain. If they cannot demonstrate this rest, they will have to do it when the border is overcome. Is it true that your trucks have no speed limiter? Yes, it’s true. That does not mean that they can happily exceed speed limits. In this case, the Civil Guard is responsible for monitoring said vehicles and economically punish offenders as it happens, for example, with any driver who skip traffic regulations. Is Spain the only country that has an agreement with Morocco? No, although alone Italy has a bilateral agreement with Morocco that allows the licenses to be redeemed to Moroccan truckers. Of course, in this case they do not have the obligation to overcome exams of any kind, or practical or theoretical. Other countries do allow these people to maintain a professional license but force to overcome various tests or temporary licenses are issued after a few months. Photo | Caleb Ruiter and AFKER MOIZ In Xataka | That the DGT is going to fine you with 135 euros for driving only in your car sounds bad. The only problem is that it is false

Three of the hottest days in the history of Spain have something in common, according to Aemet: August 2025

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The heat wave is over and now it’s time to take stock. The heat has broken numerous records, such as the maximum temperature captured at the Bercalona weather station, Fabra (38.9º), or the maximum registered in a month of August at the Jerez de la Frontera airport (45.8º). The heat wave also left other changes in historical records. 3/10. Three of the hottest days in Spain have been given during the newly finished heat wave, according to Data from the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet). Among them stands out on the 17th, with an average temperature of 28.99º, it would have been the hottest day of the heat wave and the fourth hottest day in the period between 1950 and 2025 in peninsular Spain. In this particular “Top 10” of Aemet, they also appear on August 11 and 12, which with average temperatures of 28.75º and 28.85º would be placed, respectively as the seventh and sixth warmer days of the historical series. The “Top 3”. And what about the hottest days of which you have a record? You don’t have to go far back in time to find the three warmest days of this particular series. According to agency data, the three warmest days in peninsular Spain were recorded in the 21st century. In order, these would be on August 23, 2023, with an average temperature of 29.1; on August 10, 2012, with 29.31º; and on August 14, 2021, when an average temperature of 29.58º Celsius was reached. Different data, same photo. Aemet’s list is not the only one that highlights the intensity of the last heat wave with respect to the records we had. The list published by the page Datadictindicates that five of the ninetest days of the last 70 years occurred during this heat wave, highlighting again on the 17th, when the estimated average temperature was 29.86º. As in the Aemet list, they also highlight on the 11th and 12th, although this list also includes on the 15th and 16th among the hottest days since we have observations. The discrepancy between the estimated values in each of the lists can be explained by the different methodology used when calculating the “average temperature”. According to Aemet, the calculation was carried out from the average of the maximum and minimum temperatures values, averages to which geostatistical techniques were applied to estimate an average value for the peninsular territory. Unleashed temperatures. Let’s use the method we use, the data maintain coherence in something: the last heat wave has been very intense. More generally, the 2025 is being a warmer summer than it is usually common. The month of June was marked by a persistent warm anomaly. While the month of July was less intense (we could even see negative temperature anomalies), August has had an extremely warm start. This seems to indicate that, despite the thermal descent that we still have ahead, the heat will consolidate as an indisputable protagonist of this last station. In Xataka | The maps that explain why Castilla y León have become the “zero zone” of forest fires Image | ECMWF

Spain has more green energy than ever but the system does not endure it

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Spain presumes to be a world leader in renewables. In spring he covered 100% of the demand with clean energy and in July came to beat records in renewable energy with more than 10,000 GWh, According to Electric Red Data. The paradox is still evident when taking a look to the light of the light: The green boom has collided with an invisible wall – with saturated networks and a chronic storage foul – just when heat waves shoot the demand and check the electrical system. The abundance that became a problem. In just five years, Spain has gone from irrelevance to becoming the second European country that has installed more solar capacity, only behind Germany. However, that abundance has ended up becoming a headache. In May, wholesale prices came to zero or even negative for a third of the month, According to Electric Red Data cited by Financial Times. And in July, despite beating a new renewable production record, with 13,850 GWh, the light invoices continued up, As we pointed out in Xataka In full peak of the heat wave. The paradox is clear: at noon there is fun cheap energy, but when the sun falls the network cannot sustain the demand and prices shoot again. The window of the energy transition. The contrast is even more evident if you look at the energy mix. Since July 15, Spain It has not generated electricity weeks From coal for the first time in more than 140 years. A milestone that consolidates the country as a world showcase of energy transition. However, the face B of success is that it is ruining the profitability of the sector. Projects that were just two years ago sold for € 200,000/MW today they barely reach between 28,000 and € 89,000/MW, According to a Financial Times report. The boom has resulted in a wave of “Fire Sales” and a much more uncertain market for investors. The price of running too fast. The renewable expansion has been brilliant, but the infrastructure to sustain it has not accompanied the same rhythm. Since 2020, Spain has allocated $ 0.30 to reinforce its electrical networks for every dollar invested in new solar and wind plants, compared to 0.70 European average, According to Bloombergnef collected by FT. The result is a bottleneck: more than thirty “hot knots” where the network is saturated, especially in Cáceres, Badajoz, Toledo and Ciudad Real. Only in July, more than half of the production cuts –The so -called Curtailments– They corresponded to photovoltaic, with about 392 GWh wasted, According to the Spanish. In addition, the low storage capacity aggravates the painting. When the sun sets, photovoltaic production collapses but the demand remains high, forcing the system to resort to gas to cover the hole. That same gas, more expensive in international markets, has become one of the engines of the price increase. To this was added in January the return of the electric VAT to 21%, after years of fiscal reduction to mitigate the energy crisis, As we have described in Xataka. The result is noted by the consumer: in July, the average price of light reached € 164/MWh, which meant that an average family would pay between 20 and 25 euros more on its monthly bill compared to last summer. Heat has something to say. To structural problems have been added short -term factors. The heat waves of the summer have stressed the system: in June, the electrical demand increased by 14% in Spain, 9% in France and 6% in Germany, As we have explained in Xataka. With the air conditioners operating at full performance, the demand is triggered just when the nuclear and thermal plants reduce their capacity due to the lack of cold water in the rivers to refrigerate. France has been the country most affected by this phenomenon, but Spain has also felt pressure. A decree waiting for the end of summer. The third leg of this whole issue has to do with politics. After the April blackout, the government Approved in June a decree “Antiapagon” which sought to reinforce the network and give an impulse to energy storage. However, on July 22 the norm was rejected in Congress with 183 votes against, in a coalition of rejection between the conservative opposition and part of the left. Since then, the Executive tries to carry out some of these measures through regulatory reforms that do not need parliamentary approval. The other face of the solar boom. Given this panorama, the market looks for exits. One of them are the long -term energy sale contracts (PPAS), which ensure stable prices to corporate customers. The Zelestra project in Belinchón, for example, closed an agreement with pharmacists such as Takeda and Teva when the average of the PPAS in Spain was around € 39/MWh, According to FT. Another change vector is marked by technological giants. Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have announced large data centers in Spain, attracted by the abundance of cheap energy. “There is an enormous interest, they consider Spain the number one fate in Europe,” admitted the CEO of Zelestra in statements collected by expansion. However, enthusiasm ranges with the same obstacles: slow permits and lack of network connection points. It is not exclusive to Spain. As they have detailed in the Spanish report, Germany needs to reinforce 14,000 kilometers of high voltage lines to transfer their renewable energy from north to the industrial south; Scotland has come to pay wind parks for not producing; And in the United States there are about 1,000 GW of renewable projects waiting for a network connection, almost four times the installed capacity. A brilliant future among cracks. Spain has potential, but its electrical system is not prepared to manage so much clean energy. As a summary cited by Financial Times summarized: “The problem is not that Spain has gone too fast with renewables, but has been too slow with networks.” The future of the energy transition will not depend on installing more panels, but on … Read more

The fires that are ravaging Spain, seen from the space and through the maps

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Although the heat wave that we have been supporting for days begins to send and, According to data from the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET)the maximum temperatures will descend in a generalized way this week, the forest fires They are still out of control. So far this year, More than 344,400 hectares have already burned throughout Spain. A figure that makes 2025 one of the worst seasons of forest fires that Europe has lived in the last two decades. 13 tricks to get the most out of Google Maps With this panorama, it is normal to ask how the situation evolves. The reality is that the foci constantly change. However, there are technological tools open and accessible both for the general public and for the authorities. Two of the most useful are the alert system for Google Maps crisis and the emergency viewfinder of the Copernicus Program of the European Union. Both resources are available for free and you can consult them right now. Google Maps is one of those applications that we use daily, but we don’t always know all its functions. To see the active forest fires You have to enter the mobile app or maps.google.com and play on the layer icon, in the upper right corner. In the section Map type You don’t have to change anything. The focus is in Map detailswhere we must select the Forest Fire option. The system will show the affected areas with relevant information, such as the level of gravity and the date of the last update. If we play in any of the marked areas (for example, Ourense, one of the most complicated when publishing this article), we will access a file with the estimated perimeterlinks to official sources and related articles. Google Maps is not limited to showing points on the map: behind there is a system that combines Ia with satellite images. To detect and delimit forest fires, use a model of Deep Learning Trained with satellite data such as GOES-16, GOES-18, Himawari-9 or European meteosat, among others. It also relies on sensors such as Modis (of Aqua and Terra satellites) and VIIRS (aboard S-NPP and JPSS-1). All that information is processed through Superresolution techniques To identify active spotlights and update maps with precision. In the case of the Copernicus system, you have to access the page Current Sition ViewerAvailable on the web forest-fire.emerncy.copernicus.eu/applications. The viewfinder is quite intuitive. In the left lateral menu you have to locate the Rapid Damage Assessment section and focus on the Active Fire layer. There are two selectable data sources: Modiswhich collects information through satellite sensors Terra and Aqua. VIIRSwhich uses similar algorithms to detect active spotlights aboard the satellite Suomi NPP (National Polar-Footing Partnership). Both layers allow to visualize in real time the fires detected from space, and are a valuable tool to closely follow the situation both in Spain and in the rest of Europe. Images | Copernicus (Emergency Management Service) | Google Maps In Xataka | If the question is how to shield the mountain to fires, in Soria they have an ancestral solution: luck of pines

In Spain there is a “black triangle” of fires between Ourense, Zamora and León. And it is not explained only by heat

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The drawing is bleak. If you open Google Mapsactivate the “fire” function And you take a look at the map of Spain you will see that much of the flames that are devouring the mountain of the country (and some populated areas) seem to concentrate on a particular ‘triangle of fire’ between the provinces of Ourense, León and Zamora. There are the fires of Mozyuelas de la Caballea, Yeres or that of Queixa Chandrexawhich have already razed thousands and thousands of hectares. It is not the only region of Spain punished by the flames, but the big question is … Why do forest fires seem to be primed right in that region? The Spain that burns. It is not being a good August for the mountains of the country. According to The last report of the Ministry of Environment (Miteco), still incomplete because its technicians do not have the data of the large active fires, so far this year the flames have devastated 138,800 ha. And that is the calculation to August 10, so it does not include the devastated surface during the last week. To better understand what this data is, remembering that between January and the first week of September 2024 the forest fires burned 43,655 ha or that throughout 2023 they had calcined 89,000. If we look back, at the last decade, there was only one more disastrous exercise than the current one: 2022, when at this point of the year they had burned Around 215,000 hectares. Is the whole country the same? No. The flames have punished to a greater or lesser extent Andalusia, Estremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia and the regions of Valencia and Madridto quote only some examples, but there is a specific area of the Peninsula that is suffering from the dentelladas of the fire with special virulence: the triangle formed by the provinces of Ourense, León and Zamora. Tan a Fast look To Google Maps to check it. There is Chandrexa de Queixa, which has affected more than 17,000 ha And it is already considered The most destructive of the history of Galicia. Also that of Mozyuelas de la Carballedathat passed from Zamora to León and has calcined several dozens of hectares. Looking for the causes. The big question is … why do that region hit so much fury? What are the causes? The question is interesting because it is not an isolated phenomenon: there are populations, like Castromil’sbetween Ourense and Zamora, who have resigned themselves to deal with fire every year. For the impact of the flames on the ‘triangle’ between Zamora, León and Ourense He wondered Recently in X Francisco M. Azcárate, professor of ecology, biology and environmental sciences. And its entry response is interesting: the succession of forest fires in that region of the Peninsula cannot be attributed to pyologists or negligence. Or that is not the only cause at least. In the background there are more complex structural reasons that have to do with the characteristics of that area or changes in the use of the territory. Meteorology earrings. “Climatically, the area fits perfectly with ecosystems that, naturally, have a high frequency of important fires,” Azcárate starts Before aiming the influence of the rainy season, during which biomass accumulates, and dry, marked by the mass of dry and very flammable vegetation. To this factor is added the frequency of fires in humid Mediterranean climates or the effect of climate change, which influences extreme temperatures and “extends the risk season.” The fire wave has in fact coincided with Another heat which began in early August and that already stands out as one of The most durable Since at least the 70s, which is when the historical Aemet starts. Although it is not an inflexible guideline, experts have not been warning that the fight against forest fires is especially complex when the known as the known as ‘Rule 30-30-30’: Temperatures above 30ºC, wind gusts of more than 30 km/Hy a humidity of less than 30%. Click on the image to go to Tweet. The perfect cocktail. Not only do climatic conditions or heat wave influence, which has spread far beyond the Ourean-Leon-Zamora triangle. Another of the keys that explains the impact of fires in that concrete area of the Peninsula must be sought, Azcárate points out, on the ground and orography. “The region has acidic and little fertile soils. This favors more flammable plant communities, due to the composition of plants’ tissues,” The expert reflects. At stake also enters the orography of that region, marked by an “abrupt relief” that hinders the access of “erratic and strong” seals that can abruptly change the direction of the flames. A few years ago Civio analyzed The main fires recorded in Spain throughout the 2007-2016 decade and discovered that in almost 80% of cases (153 of 196) the gusts exceeded 30 km/h, which could influence the evolution of fire. Something more than weather and orography. Not everything is climate, meteorology, orography or soil characteristics. In the fires it is influencing another factor than You are talking a lot During the last days: the depopulation of the rural one (which is usually accompanied by the abandonment of fields and a change in forest management), something that starts from the provinces of Ourense, Zamora and León They know well. “In general in Spain there has been rural, population and peoples abandonment and depopulation is a food for fires,” Celso Coco warnsfire expert and forest management in The opinion-the mail of Zamora. And what does that suppose? “The consequence is that in those areas where it was worked, it was grown, it was granted, natural vegetation has been installed and there is no use of them, which has increased the forest area greatly. This continuity of vegetation, without management, results in a vulnerable landscape,” duck. In their opinion, forest fires “have existed, exist and exist” and constitute “a natural process”, but changes in the landscape have affected their impact: where they were previously found with land … Read more

France and Morocco have allied to flood Europe with green ammonia. And compete directly with Spain

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In December 2022, in full energy crisis and with the intention of stop depending on gas and oil from Russia, Spain, Portugal and France joined To define the H2Med green hydrogen corridor. The idea was to start producing green hydrogen for electricity generation, something that Spain can contribute thanks to its reserves and Great surplus of renewable. In April 2024, Europe approved the two axes planned in Spainbut a few months later, France reached a parallel agreement with Morocco. This is the Chbika project, and is as ambitious as controversial. Chbika. Europa presumes being a Power in renewablessomething that has been revealed in recent months, but also wants import a huge amount of energy directly from Africa. According to Europe, it is “essential to meet the objectives of the European green pact And to reinforce energy security ”, and within these agreements is the signed between France and Morocco. In October 2024, taking advantage of the visit of the French president Emmanuel Macron to Morocco, and with the presence of King Mohammed VI, an ambitious plan for the industrial production of green hydrogen and ammonia was signed. Goals. This project is driven For a European consortium formed by TE H2, a Joint-Venture of the French groups Total Energies and Eren, but also with the Danes Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and AP Moller Capital. Their goals are: Build wind and solar infrastructure on land with 1 GW capacity. Green hydrogen production using the electrolysis technique thanks to Desalinated seawater. Use hydrogen to get 200,000 tons of annual green ammonia, mainly for the European market. Green ammonia. Apart from green hydrogen, which is used to generate electricity, the Green ammonia It is a compound formed by nitrogen and hydrogen that is achieved by electrolysis that uses renewable energies. The traditional process to achieve ammonia implies natural gas, so the use of renewables in the process makes it a process without CO₂ emissions. The main use of ammonia is as agricultural fertilizer, but it can also be used as a hydrogen bearer. It has a high energy density and is easier to transport than hydrogen (not needing cooling as extreme as H2), which makes it an energy vector to export hydrogen at long distances. In search of treasure. This agreement seeks not only to strengthen cooperation between Europe and Africa in energy matters, but also consolidates the position of Morocco as a key supplier of clean energy to the European Union. And it is aligned with the Repowereu program that intends to import 10 million tons of green hydrogen before 2030. Although the pact was signed in autumn last year, a few weeks ago the confirmation of land rights in which the plant will be built and advances in technical and legal agreements that settle the bases of the operations that will come below were made. Controversy. Now, the Chbika project is not exempt from controversy. On the one hand, it has been indicated as a Moroccan maneuver to strengthen its position in green hydrogen within Europe, competing directly against Spain. On the other hand, part of the territory destined for the project, in the Guelmim-Oed Noun region, is considered by agencies such as the UN as border or superimposed with areas of the Western Saharaoccupied by Morocco. Activist organizations They denounce that many of these energy projects in Morocco are building On occupied Saharawi territoriesand what is it about *Greenwashing operations* Through clean energy while they continue to oppress the Saharawi people. Spanish plans. Meanwhile … What does Spain do? Well, some of its companies, such as acting or cepsa, They have also signed with Morocco. The objective of the African country is that renewables represent 52% of their installed capacity for 2030 and green hydrogen is a means to achieve it. And, for this, a Moroccan government committee selected five consortiums to develop six green hydrogen projects with the intention of producing ammonia, steel and industrial fuel. Problem? Apart from the competition with Spanish projects, they will be developed in the aforementioned Guelmim-Oed Noun, as well as in Dakhla-Rio de Oro and LaAyoune-Sakia el Hamra, also occupied territories, which can increase diplomatic tensions With Spain and the Sahara. Image | Topsoe Xataka | The price of gas has already reached 2022 levels. Now the European industry depends on one thing: that the cold does not return

Spain is becoming an authentic mecca of data centers. Uruguay has some lessons about it

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Spain is fashionable Between the Big Tech. Practically all have chosen our country to Create new data centers. Investments are notable in different communities, but Aragon is undoubtedly One of the ones that has bet most of these facilities, but there are (at least) a problem. The water. This is what a reportage from El País in which we talk about the risks that these new data centers raise Not only in Spain, but in other countries such as Mexico or Chile, where there are also strong investments of this type. Aragon tends a red carpet to Amazon In the case of Spain, it lends itself especially to what has happened in recent months in Huesca, where Amazon already had three data centers for its AWS platform (in the Burgo de Ebro, Villanueva de Gállego and the Phylus polygon in Huesca Capital), but Project new one in Walqa. The company announced last year an investment of 15.7 billion Ed dollars in the region between 2024 and 2033. This project raised quite controversial at the beginning of the year. It was then that the residents of the Rural neighborhood of Cuarte began to receive letters Notifying them of an expropriation of land next to the Walqa Technology Park. Among the concerns of these neighbors was the layout of a New high voltage electric line that crossed the townin addition to the high consumption of water resources. The neighbors met with Amazon representatives in February and finally managed to make the technology deviant that layout of the high voltage line outside the town. Amazon too reached an agreement to finance infrastructure to supply water to cuarte and other populations thanks to new channeling works from the San Julián de Banzo spring. The energy problem is still striking. These data centers, to which the one who projects one in La Cartuja, in Zaragoza, will consume 10,800 GWH, a huge figure that in fact exceeds the consumption of electricity throughout the province in 2024, which It was 10.54 GWh. To solve that problem the company has paid 1.5 million euros to expand the electricity grid to all your data centers. But Water consumption is even more remarkable. Carlos López, a member of Ecologists in Action in Aragon, explained in the country how Amazon will install several wells inside their plots to extract water from the subsoil and thus refrigerate the equipment. It is estimated That these data centers will consume more than 755,000 cubic meters of water a year to refrigerate equipment, but according to López there will be no control and “it will not be able to demonstrate how much water they will extract.” A Amazon spokesman clarified in that report that these wells “are subject to regulatory supervision” and are raised as a reserve water source. The company already indicated this year that it is using 48% more water of what I expected for a simple reason: The heat. It remains to be seen, of course, what happens when these centers are operational: it will be then when those energy and water consumption and their real impact on Aragon can really be valued, both for the consumption of their citizens and the rest of the industry – and especially the irrigation – as in the case of the environmental impact. That makes it very difficult value the true return of this type of projects for countries such as Spain. Although it is true that during its construction employment is generated, the operation does not usually require so many positions. In the recent data center project that Meta is creating in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), it is expected that some 5,000 jobs for its construction will be created. However, when it is operational target will use about 250 professionals for its management and maintenance. Documents obtained by the country seal that in October 2021, in the three data centers that existed in Aragon “the total direct employees in each of the three centers in Aragon did not exceed twenty at that time.” That red carpet with which some autonomous communities are receiving these investments can end up giving many dislikes. A similar case: Uruguay Everything seemed promising in the new data center project that Google wanted to install in the Science Park, in the Uruguayan department of Canelones, attached to Montevideo. Google Data Centers in Storey, Nevada. Source: Google. This data center, the second of the company in Latin America, It began to build In August 2024 with an investment of more than 850 million dollars. However, the project has been surrounded by an important controversy since its inception. TO Daniel Penaresearcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Republic (Uruguay), Something scaled him in that project of the searches giant. In July 2022 this expert analyzed the project that Google presented, but realized something important: At no time were details about water consumption or energy that would impose said data center. The Uruguayan Ministry of Environment denied access to that data, and in December filed a lawsuit With the help of lawyer Carolina Neme. Months later Pena could access the information and discovered that in a first stage the data center will need 3.8 million liters of water per day (3,800 cubic meters). In the second that requirement was bent: it would need 7.6 million liters of water (7,600 cubic meters). But not any type of water. Drinking water. Pena said that the water needs by that data center were “considerable.” The average monthly consumption of a home for three or four people is 15 cubic meters, which means that the data center raises consumption equivalent to that of about 55,000-60,000 people a day. Google ended up modifying several aspects of the project, and among them that of that use of drinking water. The company ended obtaining permission To build it, when among other things he pointed out that instead of using drinking water, he would use a call -based cooling system Chillersclosed circuits that recirculate … Read more

The Canary Islands will tend an underwater cable to Morocco. If Morocco decides to extend it, Spain will have a problem

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An underwater cable of 49 million euros will connect the Canary Islands with Africa, but it will stop just where the legal problem begins: the border of the Western Sahara. What is happening. The Ring of the East islands will first join Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura with the latest generation fiber. Then it will jump to the African continent, to Tarfaya, the last Moroccan city before the West Sahara. The Canarian government It has been clear: “The cable goes to Tarfaya, it has nothing to do with Western Sahara.” But Morocco has other plans. His government wants to extend that connection to what he calls his “South Provinces”, the euphemism with which he refers to the Saharawi territory since 1975, when Spain abandoned it. Why is it important. Submarine cables are Internet highways. 99% of data traffic between continents travels through them. This project promises to make the Canary Islands a digital node between Europe and Africa. But there is a huge legal problem. The EU Court of Justice considers any economic activity in the Western Sahara without consent of the Polisario Front, recognized by the UN as representative of the Saharawi people. And the Polisario He has already warned: If the cable reaches Saharawi territory, they will go to court. The context. Since Pedro Sánchez supported the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Sahara in 2022Spain tries to maintain the balance between its economic interests with Morocco and its international legal obligations. This cable puts that test balance. If the infrastructure that Spain finances with European funds ends up facilitating Moroccan expansion in Sahara, could splash Spain with legal problems in European courts. The money trail. The construction has already begun with these numbers: 49 million total budget. 20 million provided by the European Investment Bank. Additional 7.5 million for connection with Tarfaya. In February, Canalink technicians – the Canarian public company that leads the project— Tarfaya visited to study the land and design the submarine layout. The cable will be manufactured in 2025 and will be deployed in 2026. The precedent. It is not the first time that Canary Islands connect with Morocco. Since 2011 There is a cable with Asilahin the north of the country. But that did not generate any controversy because it is far from the territory in dispute. This is different. It reaches the same border of the Sahara. And even if technically stops there, it creates the perfect basis for Morocco to complete what European companies cannot do directly by legal restrictions. The threat. The Polisario Front has a history of victories in European courts. He has lying fishing agreements and agriculture between the EU and Morocco for including resources from the Sahara without its consent. “We will carry out any action to guarantee the rights of the Saharawi people,” He said Abdulah Arabi, representative of the Polisario in Spain. A data cable would be your next goal if you cross the border. And now what. The project will continue because Canary Islands need this connection. The ESSI Spain will be able to maintain the legal fiction that its responsibility ends in Tarfaya. If Morocco extends the cable to the Sahara using the base infrastructure financed with European money, Spain could be found in the midst of another conflict between its economic interests and its obligations with the territory that it abandoned 50 years ago. And this time it will not be for fishing or phosphates, but for the control of the data between two continents. In Xataka | The Google Maps of submarine cables: an imposing interactive map that allows us to know the skeleton of the modern world Outstanding image | TelefónicaGoogle Maps

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