Ministry of Environment (Spain)

Last updated
Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico
Logotipo del Ministerio para la Transicion Ecologica y el Reto Demografico.svg
Nuevos Ministerios (Madrid) 01.jpg
The Ministry has its headquarters in the Nuevos Ministerios government complex.
Agency overview
FormedMay 5, 1996;28 years ago (1996-05-05) (as Ministry of Environment)
June 7, 2018 (as Ministry for the Ecological Transition)
Type Ministry
Jurisdiction Escudo de Espana (mazonado).svg Spanish government
HeadquartersPlaza de San Juan de la Cruz, s/n
Madrid, Spain
Employees6,129 (2019) [1]
Annual budget 8.9 billion, 2023 [2]
Minister responsible
Agency executives
Child agency
Website Ministry for the Ecological Transition (in Spanish)

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for developing the government policy on fight against climate change, prevention of pollution, protecting the natural heritage, biodiversity, forests, sea, water and energy for a more ecological and productive social model. [3] Likewise, it is responsible for the elaboration and development of the government policy against the country's demographic challenges (population ageing, territorial depopulation, floating population effects, etc.). [3]

Contents

It corresponds to the MITECO the elaboration of the national legislation on waters and coasts, environment, climate change, meteorology and climatology; the direct management of the hydraulic public domain (all types of surface and groundwater), of the maritime-terrestrial public domain (territorial waters, inland waters, natural resources of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, as well as beaches and coasts); the representation of the Kingdom in the international organizations corresponding to these matters; as well as the coordination of actions, cooperation and agreement in the design and application of all policies that affect the scope of competences of the regions and the other public administrations, encouraging their participation through the cooperation bodies and instruments adequate. [3]

Likewise, it corresponds to the Ministry the development of the national energy and mining policy, together with the measures aimed at ensuring the energy supply, guaranteeing a correct regulation of the sector and the analysis and monitoring of these markets, together with mining competencies, all within the framework of the ecological transition. [3]

The MITECO is headed by the Ecological Transition Minister, who is appointed by the Monarch at request of the Prime Minister. Other high officials of the ministry are the Secretary of State for Energy, the Secretary of State for Environment, the Secretary-General for the Demographic Challenge and the Under-Secretary of the Department. The current minister is Teresa Ribera since 2018. [4]

History

Precurssors

The history of environmental policy in Spain reaches back to the 18th century, when the Ordinances for Conservation and the Increase of the Marine Mountains and for the Increase and Conservation of Forests and Plantings were promulgated (1748). [5]

The Royal Decree of November 9, 1832, gave the newly created Ministry of Public Works jurisdiction over the planting and conservation of the mountains and trees, as well as the irrigation and drainage works of marshy lands. [6] A year later, the Directorate-General for Forests was created, the first administration dedicated to the conservation of nature. [7] By Royal Decree of 31 May 1837, it was established that the mounts and plantations which belonged the Crown and of unknown owner, as belonging to the Nation, they would be administered by the government. The government body entrusted with this task was the Directorate-General for Forests. In 1855 the Forestry Advisory Board was founded.

Environnement becomes a standalone ministry

In the 20th century, the competences in the environment were varying in rank, being mere commissions, directorates-general or even secretaries of State.

All these competences of the ministry were varying between the ministries of development, agriculture and presidency, until 1993 when the term "Environment" reached the rank of ministry, creating the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Environment. [8]

But it was not until 1996 when the Environment obtained its own ministry during the presidency of José María Aznar, creating the Ministry of Environment that was in force until 2011 (in 2008 the Ministry assumed the powers in Rural and Marine Environment [9] ).

Merger intro Ministry of Agriculture

In 2011, the new prime minister Mariano Rajoy merged this ministry with the Ministry of Agriculture, creating the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011-2016) and later the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (2016-2018).

Independence retrieved by the ministry

In 2018, with the arrival of Pedro Sánchez to the premiership, he regained the ministry's autonomy by creating a ministry focused on carrying out an energy transition towards more ecological means of production, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. [10] For this purpose Sánchez appointed Teresa Ribera as minister and her ministry assumed for the first time responsibilities on energy policy, a policy that historically belonged to the ministries of Industry or Economy.

In 2020, in order to improve the environmental policies that this department was doing, the Prime Minister promoted minister Ribera to the rank of Deputy Prime Minister [11] and it trusted her the responsibilities on the different demographic challenges that Spain had. [12] Nowadays, the official name (in Spanish) is Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico as a new, changed name from the previously named Ministerio del Medio Ambiente.

Denomination of the Ministry

Despite its long history, the agency did not reach the rank of ministry until 1993:

Teresa Ribera, current Ecological Transition Minister. The MITECO Teresa Ribera 2018.jpg
Teresa Ribera, current Ecological Transition Minister.

Structure

The Ministry's structure is: [13]

Ministry agencies and enterprises

List of officeholders

Office name:

PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officePartyGovernment Prime Minister
(Tenure)
Ref.
Took officeLeft officeDuration
Isabel Tocino 1996b (cropped).jpg Isabel Tocino
(born 1949)
6 May
1996
28 April
2000
3 years and 358 days PP Aznar I José María Aznar
Jose Maria Aznar 2003d (cropped).jpg
(1996–2004)
[14]
[15]
Jaume Matas 2004 (cropped).jpg Jaume Matas
(born 1956)
28 April
2000
3 March
2003
2 years and 309 days PP Aznar II [16]
[17]
Elvira Rodriguez 2003b (cropped).jpg Elvira Rodríguez
(born 1957)
3 March
2003
18 April
2004
1 year and 46 days PP [18]
[19]
Cristina Narbona 2007 (cropped).jpg Cristina Narbona
(born 1951)
18 April
2004
14 April
2008
3 years and 362 days PSOE Zapatero I José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero 2011c (cropped).jpg
(2004–2011)
[20]
[21]
Office disestablished during this interval. [a]
Teresa Ribera 2023 (cropped).jpg Teresa Ribera
(born 1969)
7 June
2018
13 January
2020
6 years and 171 days PSOE Sánchez I Pedro Sánchez
Pedro Sanchez 2023b (cropped).jpg
(2018–present)
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
13 January
2020
21 November
2023
Sánchez II
21 November
2023
25 November
2024
Sánchez III
Portrait placeholder.svg Sara Aagesen
(born 1976)
25 November
2024
Incumbent0 days Independent [26]

Notes

  1. The department's competences were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture between 2008 and 2018.

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