ICTA-UAB contributes to the ONAC document on the climate emergency
Researchers from the ICTA-UAB are actively participating in the drafting process of the Working Document on Proposals from the Scientific Community in Response to the Climate Emergency, promoted by the Spanish National Office for Scientific Advice (ONAC), a Government of Spain body responsible for integrating scientific knowledge into public policymaking.
Specifically, Jeroen van den Bergh and Pablo Núñez Yebra, researchers at ICTA-UAB, have contributed as authors to the draft document, which brings together 202 proposals submitted by the scientific community with the aim of providing scientific evidence to support the development of the future State Pact on the Climate Emergency.
The contribution by the two ICTA-UAB researchers focuses on one of the key challenges of global climate action: free riding among countries, arising from the climate being a global public good. Their proposal emphasises the need to move towards more ambitious and binding international cooperation, based on the creation of an expanding climate coalition that harmonises policies through a common carbon price and instruments such as emissions trading systems and carbon border adjustment mechanisms.
Van den Bergh and Núñez Yebra argue that voluntary commitments, such as those established under the Paris Agreement, have proven insufficient to achieve effective reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. They highlight the potential leadership role of the European Union—and of Spain in particular—in promoting an international coalition capable of delivering meaningful and equitable climate mitigation.
The participation of ICTA-UAB in this process reinforces the institute’s role as a leading centre for interdisciplinary research addressing major socio-environmental challenges and underscores the importance of direct collaboration between the scientific community and public institutions. Through initiatives such as this, ICTA-UAB actively contributes to ensuring that scientific evidence informs public policy and supports decision-makers in the context of climate emergency.