The new White Paper on Climate Science in Spain has been presented as a kind of comprehensive map of who is researching what about climate in our country, a tool designed to organize, highlight, and strengthen scientific work that has been growing in volume and relevance for years. The document systematically compiles, for the first time, detailed data on research groups, lines of work, and collaborations in the field of climate science.
This initiative comes at a time when the climate emergency and the rise of denialist rhetoric and disinformation are forcing a refinement of public policies and a clearer reliance on scientific evidence. With this White Paper, the Government and the research community aim to establish a solid knowledge base to guide decisions, coordinate efforts, and identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the Spanish scientific system in the field of climate.
A snapshot of the climate science community in Spain
The Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen , and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant , formally presented the White Paper on Climate Science in Spain at an event held at the Eduardo Torroja Institute of Construction Sciences in Madrid. Both officials emphasized that the document is conceived as a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the scientific ecosystem of climate science.
As Aagesen explained, this is the first time a structured effort has been made to broaden the perspective and identify groups working on risks, impacts, and mitigation through surveys targeting the Spanish scientific community. This data collection has made it possible to locate research teams spread throughout the country, dedicated to very diverse areas within climate science.
The information gathered offers a comprehensive overview of the intense climate research activity taking place in Spain: it describes the state of the research community, its thematic diversity, its capacity for collaboration, and its potential for growth. The White Paper also helps to identify priority lines of research, visualize synergies between groups, and detect areas where reinforcement is needed.
For her part, Diana Morant emphasized that Spanish scientific talent should guide public policy decisions on climate. She stressed that Spain faces serious threats related to climate change, but also possesses a great strength: a well-established public R&D system, with centers and universities that have been studying the climate system and its consequences for the country for years.
The Minister of Science also emphasized that the government clearly stands on the side of science against climate change denial and disinformation , warning that false climate narratives not only endanger lives but also erode democratic quality. In this context, she stressed, documents like the White Paper help to highlight the work of researchers and recognize the value of their efforts.
Milestones, scope and objectives of the White Paper
The White Paper is presented as a compendium offering a comprehensive overview of climate science research in Spain . It was produced by the CLIVAR-Spain network and is based on data collected with the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, both in its editorial preparation and dissemination.
Among the document's key highlights is the compilation of the historical evolution of climate research at the national level. It reviews the development of this field in recent decades, the role of CLIVAR-Spain as a leading network, and the trajectory of the groups that have shaped the climate science community, as well as the changes that have occurred compared to previous years.
The White Paper highlights the thematic and territorial breadth of climate research, but also its institutional and geographical dispersion. It thus makes clear that in Spain there is a wide variety of activity, ranging from the study of the physical processes of the climate system to applied research on impacts, adaptation and mitigation, as well as biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration.
In addition to describing the current situation, the document explicitly aligns with the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2021-2030 . It contributes to its lines of action by highlighting the importance of creating and strengthening spaces and networks for exchange between the scientific community and the various actors involved in adaptation: government agencies, economic sectors, social organizations, and citizens.
The text emphasizes that initiatives like this are essential for advancing public policies based on scientific knowledge . By organizing available information and connecting groups that may have previously worked in isolation, it facilitates the translation of research results into concrete measures regarding territory, health, water resources, coastlines, and biodiversity.
CLIVAR-Spain, two decades articulating climate science
The White Paper is the latest major publication from CLIVAR-Spain , a committee and thematic network created in 2004 that has established itself as a benchmark in the generation and articulation of knowledge about the climate system and climate change. The network focuses its work on the physical science of climate in Spain , encompassing areas such as the study of past climates, instrumental observations, atmospheric and oceanic modeling, and regional projections for the western Mediterranean.
One of the network's first major milestones was the organization, in February 2005, of a symposium that brought together nearly 50 research teams from universities and public institutions. That meeting allowed for an initial assessment of the state of the art in the various areas of climate research in Spain and led to the report "State of Climate Research in Spain," published in 2006.
Since then, CLIVAR-Spain has promoted different cycles of activity to consolidate the coordination of the climate community. Among the most relevant publications are "Climate in Spain: Past, Present and Future" (2010), the "Special Issue on Climate over the Iberian Peninsula: An Overview of CLIVAR-Spain Coordinated Science" (2017), and the executive summary "The Climate in the Iberian Peninsula" (2019), which have served to organize and share scientific results generated by multiple groups.
The network has also worked to strengthen its relationships with other committees and forums, both national and international. Its link with CLIVAR International is particularly noteworthy, as is its stated objective of replicating, on a regional scale, the philosophy of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) work cycles, integrating observations, theory, and modeling to provide robust climate diagnoses.
The latest work cycle began in 2023 with the "CLIVAR 2023: Towards an integrated view of climate" conference, held in Madrid and attended by approximately 150 climate science specialists. This meeting laid the groundwork for the CLIVAR – Spain Report , subsequently published, and for the White Paper now being presented, which expands the traditional approach to explicitly include groups working on climate change risks, impacts, and mitigation.
Research groups, talent and new investments
One of the most striking aspects of the White Paper is its effort to identify and characterize active climate research groups in Spain. The document details dozens of teams and more than six hundred researchers dedicated to different facets of climate change, from the physics of the climate system to the study of impacts on biodiversity, health, and productive sectors, as well as mitigation strategies.
The presentation highlighted that this inventory of research groups and lines of work represents an important step in showcasing the diversity and territorial reach of Spanish climate science. It reveals a broad and continuously expanding community with remarkable potential for further progress, both in understanding climate processes and in developing adaptation solutions.
The government used the event to announce that it will allocate new funds to environmental research projects carried out at Spanish centers. In total, an additional investment of several million euros is planned, which will finance dozens of projects focused on nature protection, biodiversity conservation, marine pollution prevention, and responding to the impacts of climate change.
As Aagesen explained, the idea is for science to serve as a compass when defining actions to address the climate crisis. Instead of decisions based on intuition or purely political debates, the aim is to strengthen the capacity to generate data, models, and scenarios that guide which measures are most effective in each territory and sector—something especially relevant in a country as climatically and geographically diverse as Spain.
Among the highlighted initiatives was the development of a digital twin of the Spanish coast , a project that combines observation and advanced modeling to analyze how climate change will affect the coastline. This tool will allow for a more precise assessment of risks such as sea level rise and increased storm activity, and will help design adaptation and protection measures for infrastructure, ecosystems, and population centers.
Key researchers and priority lines of work
The presentation of the White Paper also included the participation of researchers who have played a significant role in its preparation and in the development of climate science in Spain. One of them was MarÃa Belén RodrÃguez de Fonseca , professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and researcher at the Institute of Geosciences (IGEO), former coordinator of the CLIVAR committee and co-author of the document.
RodrÃguez de Fonseca focuses his work on analyzing climate variability and its impacts on key sectors of society. During the event, he emphasized that Spain already possesses a significant body of knowledge and, above all, great potential to further deepen its understanding of the climate system, provided that research support is maintained and collaborative networks are strengthened.
Another voice present was that of Ana Casanueva Vicente , a tenured professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Cantabria and a member of the Santander Meteorology Group, in which staff from the university and the Institute of Physics of Cantabria collaborate.
Casanueva's team specializes in climate regionalization techniques and models , essential tools for translating information from global models to regional and local scales, where adaptation decisions are actually made. Their work also focuses on analyzing heat stress and climate control in public and educational spaces to mitigate its effects, an increasingly relevant aspect in a context of more frequent and intense heat waves with implications for both the general population and labor productivity.
The contributions of these and other researchers reflect that climate science in Spain covers a wide range of priority topics: from monitoring global warming and attributing extreme events, to assessing impacts on health , agriculture, water resources, energy or ecosystems, and including the design of adaptation solutions and decarbonization strategies.
Climate emergency and the need to strengthen science
The context in which this White Paper was created is one of a climate emergency recognized by the international community . The latest IPCC report indicated that the global average temperature between 2011 and 2020 was the warmest on record, confirming a warming trend that continues to accelerate.
In Spain, data from the State Meteorological Agency point in the same direction: the last few years are among the warmest in historical records , with increasingly longer summers, more frequent episodes of high temperatures, more irregular rainfall and a growing incidence of extreme phenomena, such as prolonged droughts or torrential rains.
In light of this situation, both government representatives and members of the scientific community stressed the urgent need to strengthen climate research and translate its findings into policy action. The White Paper emphasizes that improving our understanding of the physical processes of climate is not enough; it is essential to translate that knowledge into effective strategies for adaptation, risk management, and emissions reduction on the ground.
The rise in discourse that questions scientific evidence or spreads misleading messages about climate change adds pressure on researchers. At the presentation, it was reiterated that attacks on climate science and its practitioners have increased, despite the unprecedented availability of such rigorous data and analysis on the scale of the problem.
In this context, the White Paper serves not only as an inventory of groups and projects, but also as a declaration of support for the scientific community working on climate. By recognizing and organizing their work, the document aims to strengthen their position in the public debate and ensure their voice carries real weight in policymaking and the societal response to climate change.
The set of measures, diagnoses and proposals that revolve around the White Paper on climate science in Spain outlines a clear commitment to consolidating climate research as a basic pillar of public decisions, improving coordination between groups and networks, and strengthening the fight against misinformation at a critical moment, in which the ability to anticipate and adapt to the impacts of climate change will largely determine the well-being and resilience of Spanish society in the coming decades.
