Spanish government approves scientific panel to tackle climate change
The Council of Ministers has approved the creation of an expert body to produce independent reports guiding public policy on climate change. Recruitment will open this summer and the panel is due to start work in the autumn.
Published on 28/07/2026 - 19:47 GMT+2
On Tuesday the Council of Ministers approved the creation of a Scientific Panel on Action against Climate Change, a new advisory body that will provide "independent analysis" and "multidisciplinary analysis" to support the development of public policies related to the climate emergency.
"This working group will provide independent, rigorous and multidisciplinary analysis in response to the needs raised by government departments and will strengthen the integration of expert knowledge into public decision-making," the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities said in a statement (source in Spanish).
The initiative, led by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, envisages that the team of experts will be in place in the autumn.
The announcement comes as Spain battles an unprecedented wave of wildfires, including the Ávila forest fire, which has devastated more than 77,000 hectares of forest land and is already the largest ever recorded in the country's history. According to the government's latest figures, more than 63,000 people have had to be evacuated and a further 35,000 remain confined to their homes.
According to the latest situation report (source in Spanish) from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, the forest area affected by wildfires since the beginning of the year in Spain already stands at 172,396 hectares, virtually half the total that burned in the country in 2025. The cost of the wave of fires in Spain could reach 3.275 billion euros in firefighting operations alone.
Response protocols and possible scenarios
According to the government, the new working group will issue "reports on scientific evidence and proposals for response protocols" and will outline "future scenarios arising from climate change". Following the approval of the agreement, the process of selecting the scientific staff who will make up the panel's functional structure will open over the summer.
Other responsibilities include drawing up response protocols and answering queries to guide public policies both in normal circumstances and during "crises and emergencies". It will also carry out foresight exercises to anticipate future scenarios arising from the climate emergency.
The panel's governance will be organised at two levels. On the one hand, an organisational and technical committee will be responsible for directing the work, co-ordinating the process of selecting experts and channelling requests for reports. On the other, a scientific council will be in charge of producing studies and specialised advice.
This council will be made up of ten researchers "of recognised standing", from disciplines such as climate science, ecology, geography, water resources, sustainable agriculture, health, the marine environment, engineering for the ecological transition, environmental law, environmental sociology and behavioural sciences.
The creation of the panel delivers on the first pillar of the State Pact on the Climate Emergency, presented by the government in September 2025. According to the government, the proposal was refined through a participatory process that received almost 4,000 contributions from around 1,300 stakeholders.
