A European study from the Rousseau Institute, a think tank that analyzes climate change challenges, shows that Spain must channel an extra 3.2 percent of GDP into climate action if it wants to reap the benefits of migration. Achieving this requires a total investment of 2.9 trillion euros between now and 2050 to put Spain on a path to climate neutrality and to preserve its competitiveness as the world shifts toward net zero.
According to the report, Spain and Poland are the two EU members needing the most additional investment. Both the public and private sectors must commit to the ecological transition essential to meet upcoming climate challenges.
Reform in transportation and agriculture
The study, titled Road to Net Zero: Closing the Green Investment Gap, notes that Spain must undertake significant efforts to expand its railway network and flexible mobility infrastructure. It recommends boosting public investments in transport by nine billion euros annually.
The Rousseau Institute devotes a chapter to agriculture, urging a shift toward sustainable practices. Although this transition might reduce current production by a negligible amount, it would ensure enough supply to feed the EU and meet essential export needs for dairy and wheat.
Extra investment is required to complete the ecological transition, with public and private funds playing a key role in meeting this total need.
Annual public investment is identified as a crucial driver of this transition, with the institute outlining the scale of funding necessary to support a broad ecological shift across sectors.
Additionally, the report proposes introducing a tax on intensively produced meat and directing those revenues to compensation for affected farmers and to subsidize price reductions for organic and inclusive foods.
The study supports public funding to back the transformation, including converting the tractor fleet to low-emission technologies and using biogas to stabilize prices for organic foods. These measures aim to lower consumer prices and shield the European market from inexpensive imports.
In Spain, which encompasses about 15 percent of the EU’s agricultural land, the report notes that public support for agroecology is lower than in some other nations with similarly diverse production, such as Italy or Germany.
More investment in the EU: a smart measure
Looking at the EU as a whole, the think tank estimates that forty billion euros in investment will be needed to reach decarbonisation targets by mid-century. On average, the production system contributes about 2.3 percent of the EU’s GDP to this effort.
Agriculture and animal husbandry are identified as key areas for transformation by the agencies involved in this analysis.
Public expenditure across the twenty-seven member states is discussed as a critical lever. To finance decarbonisation, the authors argue for increasing annual spending to more than five hundred billion euros, a substantial rise from current levels.
The authors contend that investing in the green transition is a prudent financial move. The figure represents only a small fraction of what EU governments have allocated to other priorities in recent years, highlighting the strategic value of early climate action.
The analysis, conducted with support from the Green group in the European Parliament, recommends reforms to EU tax rules that should not exclude decarbonisation investments such as clean transport and building renovation.
European policymakers are urged to put real money behind the green transition, a sentiment echoed by a leading Greens member who argues that public investments should be prioritized to confront climate challenges more effectively.
Full report details are published by the Rousseau Institute in their working papers on Road to Net Zero.