Spain’s conservatives promise to relax climate rules if they win election

MADRID — Spain's center-right People’s Party has pledged to “put a stop to the imposition of unrealistic timelines” for climate goals if it wins the national elections on Nov. 29, a significant pivot from the Sánchez government’s pro-green policies. The PP, the favorite to win the vote, said decarbonization is an "essential goal for Europe," but promised to push for an "orderly, realistic, and fair transition," according to the energy chapter of the party's manifesto obtained by POLITICO’s Madrid Playbook.

The manifesto said it’s time "to reassess the pace of progress" in the clean energy transition "without dogmatism," while conceding there are “environmental, geostrategic and economic reasons” behind the decarbonization strategy. Spain under Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the bloc's most influential cheerleaders for ambitious climate goals, advocating to protect key EU policies like the Emissions Trading System, pollution reduction targets and the phase-out of gasoline cars.

But the PP's manifesto shows that would change if the EU's fourth-largest economy votes for a conservative government led by PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Polls point to a clear majority for a coalition between the PP and Vox, a far-right party which is highly hostile to climate policies and is rising in the polls — potentially giving it significant weight in the next cabinet. Feijóo’s team advocates assessing and relaxing Spain's climate policy sector by sector, considering three factors: “What is happening in the rest of the world, the technology that is available at the moment, and changes in demand.”

“We will not impose unnecessary obligations and will remove those that harm competitiveness, industry, or employment,” the document adds. The PP has taken a more skeptical approach to EU climate policy than many of its fellow conservatives in other countries. In November 2025, for example, it voted against the 2040 climate goal in the European Parliament, breaking ranks with most of the EU's center-right umbrella group, the European People’s Party.

Alberto Nadal, a former secretary of state for energy and for budget under the previous PP government, is the key figure on energy in Feijóo’s team and the mind behind the manifesto’s energy chapter. According to a PP official, he also considered external contributions to the manifesto from experts. In a March interview with public broadcaster RNE, Nadal criticized the EU's “almost Taliban-like or radical” decarbonization strategy. In a recent interview with ElEconomista, Nadal, seen as a possible minister in a future conservative government, shifted his attention to energy prices and industry, without discussing climate or decarbonization.

Nuclear and data centers The manifesto also proposes extending the operating lifespans of five nuclear plants “with the approval of the Nuclear Safety Council.” It also points to a change of direction on data centers if there’s a PP-led government, pledging to resolve issues that “are hindering the grid connection” of data centers within 18 months. The Socialist government has drafted a decree, expected to be approved before the Nov. 29 snap election, that would tie data centers’ access to the electricity grid to sustainability and digital sovereignty requirements.

Nadal has already stated that a conservative government will repeal the decree, which he said represents “the end of Spain's technological future”. The document also touched on the thorny issue of the 2025 national blackout and commits to updating the operating rules for the electricity system in the first six months in office. In light of what the PP considers a lack of transparency regarding the nationwide blackout, the party has pledged that "every serious incident" will be the subject of its own report.

On the circular economy, the conservative party signals that it won’t “impose additional obligations, accelerate timelines, or squander the investments, infrastructure, and capabilities that Spain already possesses.” That wording casts doubt over the implementation of the country's deposit return scheme.