Category: Interviews

Fighting climate change demands a change in our way of life and, especially, in our production and consumption model. Our market economy needs that these changes are done without affecting the freedom of economic actors. Hence, market instruments and incentive decision without any imposition are the most efficient for decarbonizing the productive cycle and our consuming habits.

In this interview we will talk with Cristina García Díaz, Technical Council attached to the Deputy Unit for Carbon Markets of the Spanish Office for Climate Change. She will explain us how the EU Emission Trading Systema (ETS) works, how it has evolved during the last 20 years, and what are the main challenges it faces with the 2023 reform. 

Broadcast Date: October 4th, 2023 (Canal UNED)

A transition towards a decarbonized European transport: what is the service sector opinion.

The transport sector is responsible for 27% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve the “zero emissions” goal by 2050, it is necessary to advocate for decarbonization in this sector. Isabell Büschel is the director of the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E)’s Spain desk. In this interview with International Public Law professor, Justo Corti Varela, she discusses the reality of transport in Europe, the different alternatives to the use of carbon and the existing obstacles to achieving the goals set by the European Union.

Broadcast Date: April 2nd, 2023 (Canal UNED)

Broadcasting RNE: 16 June 2023

Agriculture is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and 70% are due to livestock. Unlike other more emissive sectors, such as industry or transport, agricultural emissions have hardly been reduced in the last 10 years. It is a difficult task, since their emissions are essentially a consequence of the digestion processes. In this sense, strategies have been reoriented from seeking the reduction of said emissions, towards compensating them through carbon capture. One of these strategies is regenerative agriculture, a bridge between soil health, animal welfare and C02 absorption; a way of doing agriculture that is born from the systemic nature of life and the need to regenerate the land that results in our quality of life. In short, a transversal application of climate policies from agricultural policy.

Broadcast Date: January 15th, 2021 (Radio 3)

Interview with Mariano Bacigalupo Sagesse professor of Administrative Law (UNED), counselor of the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), member of the Board of Appeal of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) of the European Union, by Justo Corti Varela. 

The European Union’s clean energy legislative package of December 2018 shows an important step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carrying out a just, committed and social energy transition, to achieve a significant reduction in emissions by 2030. The transformation towards sustainable development is dependent on major changes in public agendas and policies, including the way in which we consume energy. The energy consumed from renewable sources accounts for barely the 20% of the total energy and it is not possible to expand its consumption without the introduction of new roles, as it is the case of renewable energy self-consumers. Tensions are inevitable in this transition, that affects not only the market, in which new actors and communities appear; but also has an impact on strategic interests, such as the need to guarantee supply, currently largely dependent on imports from fossil sources. The transition must be a source of progress and economic growth, as showed by the European Green Deal and the direction taken with the European Union’s recovery funds. 

Interview with Manuel Kindelán Barañano, General Director of SIGRAUTO (Spanish Association for the environmental treatment of out of use vehicles), by Alvaro Jarillo Aldeanueva.

The circular economy and waste management are key aspects of the European Union’s Green Deal. Talking with the General Director of the Spanish Association for the Environmental Treatment of Out of Use Vehicles (SIGRAUTO), we get closer to a paradigmatic area of the circular economy. Community legislation on end-of-life vehicles establishes the legal framework for their recycling, and points out the importance of implementing preventive measures from the design and assemblement stage in order to improve environmental protection efficiency. The figures on processing and recycling of vehicles endorse Spain’s commitment towards recycling and environmental protection.

Airdate: March 13, 2021 (Radio 3)