17/02/2025
The visit was organised by the FIIAPP in collaboration with the FEMP in the framework of the European Euroclima programme.
A delegation from the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) and the municipalities of Cabaiguán, Guanabacoa, Isla de la Juventud and San Antonio del Sur visited several Spanish towns this week to learn first-hand about experiences in the fight against climate change through municipal policies.
The visit took place in the framework of Euroclima, the European Union’s cooperation programme to promote policies to combat climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. Specifically, it is part of the action that aims to integrate the climate change dimension into Cuba’s municipal development plans.
The cooperation between the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) has been key in making the visit possible and has allowed the Cuban delegation to see a large number of municipal facilities and programmes to combat climate change in Valencia, Viladecans (Barcelona), El Astillero (Santander) and Rivas-Vaciamadrid (Madrid). These facilities and programmes include environmental education and awareness-raising plans, energy advice offices, eco-management farms, circular economy policy initiatives, mobility and clean points.
The visit ended with a meeting with FEMP climate policy officers at the FEMP headquarters in Madrid to discuss the challenges and lessons learned in implementing climate policies at the municipal level.
Elsa Velasco, coordinator of the Euroclima programme at the FIIAPP, said that ‘it is essential that public policies to tackle climate change do not remain in national plans or guidelines, but that they reach the territory and have an impact on the daily lives of citizens. Of course, the municipal authorities have a key role to play in making this happen. At the FEMP, he received information on municipal networking initiatives on climate change and also on other actions developed within the framework of international cooperation programmes promoted by Spanish municipalities for their development in municipalities in countries where these programmes are being carried out.
Jessica Fernández Casañas, head of CITMA’s Climate Change Department, said that ‘for a country as affected by disasters caused by climate change as Cuba, it is essential to adapt to this phenomenon. Cooperation with the Euroclima programme is greatly boosting municipal climate policies and this visit has been very useful to see first-hand how to translate the main principles of the fight against climate change into very specific initiatives in our municipalities’.
