Pedro Sánchez has presented the national network of Climate Shelters, with €10 million in aid for new shelters and another €9 million for green infrastructure. Additionally, the Council of Ministers will approve the creation of the Scientific Panel for Action against Climate Change.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Monday an investment of €19 million to boost the national network of Climate Shelters and prepare cities for the climate emergency. During the closing of an event at the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Sánchez detailed that €10 million will be allocated to finance new shelters, including educational centres, and another €9 million to green infrastructure and urban renaturalisation.
The announcement is part of the State Pact against the Climate Emergency, launched in September 2025. Sánchez emphasised that the network will be structured with vulnerability criteria so that "age, economic resources or lack of green spaces are not a barrier against the climate crisis." He encouraged municipalities, autonomous communities, and provincial councils to put their public infrastructure at the service of these spaces.
The head of the Executive recalled that so far in 2026, fires have ravaged about 150,000 hectares in Spain, 13 people have died, and heat-related deaths exceed 3,800. "It is no longer an exception: it is the rule itself. Summers are becoming increasingly difficult, destructive, and deadly," he lamented.
"The data is clear: the climate emergency kills. That is why it is not enough to address its consequences. We must reduce its causes, anticipate its effects, and better prepare our country to protect people's lives," Sánchez defended.
The president linked the initiative to traditional Spanish "wisdom" for protecting against heat: thick walls, narrow streets, ventilated patios, white facades, and shutters. "We want to bring this to today's cities and towns, combining it with innovation, knowledge, and new urban solutions," he noted.
The event was attended by the third vice president and minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen; the Minister of Health, Mónica García; and the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and government spokesperson, Elma Saiz. A climate shelter was symbolically inaugurated at the headquarters of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
In addition to the aid, Sánchez announced that the next Council of Ministers will approve the Agreement to create the Scientific Panel for Action against Climate Change. It will be an advisory body made up of top-level researchers that will help to "anticipate risks, evaluate public policies, and guide decisions with rigor, independence, and knowledge."
"In the face of an emergency of this magnitude, improvisation, prejudice, and denialism are not useful. What matters are data, evidence, and science," the president added.
The announcement comes in the context of successive heatwaves and large wildfires that have tested emergency services. The €10 million aid for shelters can be requested by municipalities and other administrations, prioritising areas with greater thermal vulnerability and lower income.
The additional €9 million will be allocated to urban renaturalisation projects, such as the creation of green corridors, the installation of natural shade, and the recovery of public spaces with vegetation. The aim is to reduce the urban heat island effect and improve air quality.
The Scientific Panel, whose members have yet to be appointed, will be consultative and must issue periodic reports on the evolution of climate risks in Spain. Its creation responds to one of the measures included in the State Pact against the Climate Emergency.
Environmental organisations have positively assessed the announcement, although they demand more ambition in emission reductions. The Government hopes that the network of shelters will be operational before the summer of 2027 and that the scientific panel will begin functioning in the coming months.
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