Fires in Spain: Sánchez Calls for a National Agreement to Tackle Climate Change

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for a national agreement to address the effects of climate change and warned that difficult times lie ahead for the country, which is still battling major fires in areas around Madrid and Valencia.

“Difficult times lie ahead, that is certain, but the information we have received here indicates that the night was positive in terms of the fire’s development, containment and the operations to tackle it,” he told reporters during a visit to the fire-hit area of Avila.

Media reports say that around 75,000 people were evacuated from their homes in areas around the Spanish capital and in the eastern region of Valencia, where strong winds threaten to spread the fire southward.

The Spanish prime minister, who often clashes with the conservative local leaders of Spain’s autonomous regions, insists that a response appropriate and proportionate to the scale of these climate emergencies is needed.