The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is the department of the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

responsible for developing the government policy on fight against

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, prevention of

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, protecting the

natural heritage Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, includes flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources. Definition Definitions: * Natural heritage refers to natural feat ...

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

for a more ecological and productive social model. Likewise, it is responsible for the elaboration and development of the government policy against the country's demographic challenges (

population ageing Population ageing is an overall change in the ages of a population. This can typically be summarised in a single parameter as an increase in the median age. Causes are a long-term decline in fertility rates and a decline in mortality rates. Most ...

, territorial

depopulation Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total human population has continued to grow but projections suggest this long-term trend may be coming to an end. From ant ...

, floating population effects, etc.). It corresponds to the MITECO the elaboration of the national legislation on waters and

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

s, environment, climate change,

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

and

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...

; the direct management of the hydraulic public domain (all types of

surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

and

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

), of the maritime-terrestrial public domain (

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

, inland waters, natural resources of the

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

and the continental shelf, as well as

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

and coasts); the representation of the Kingdom in the international organizations corresponding to these matters; as well as the coordination of actions, cooperation and agreement in the design and application of all policies that affect the scope of competences of the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and the other public administrations, encouraging their participation through the cooperation bodies and instruments adequate. Likewise, it corresponds to the Ministry the development of the national

and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

policy, together with the measures aimed at ensuring the energy supply, guaranteeing a correct regulation of the

sector Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a po ...

and the analysis and monitoring of these markets, together with mining competencies, all within the framework of the ecological transition. The MITECO is headed by the Ecological Transition Minister, who is appointed by the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

at request of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Other high officials of the ministry are the

Secretary of State for Energy A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalua ...

, the Secretary of State for Environment, the Secretary-General for the Demographic Challenge and the Under-Secretary of the Department. The current minister is

Sara Aagesen Sara Aagesen Muñoz (born in 1976) is a Spanish chemical engineer serving as Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain since 25 November 2024. She previously served as Secretary of State for Energy from 17 ...

since November 2024.

History

Precursors

The history of environmental policy in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

reaches back to the 18th century, when the Ordinances for Conservation and the Increase of the Marine Mountains and for the Increase and Conservation of Forests and Plantings were promulgated (1748). The Royal Decree of November 9, 1832, gave the newly created

Ministry of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

jurisdiction over the planting and conservation of the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, as well as the irrigation and drainage works of marshy lands. A year later, the Directorate-General for Forests was created, the first administration dedicated to the conservation of nature. By Royal Decree of 31 May 1837, it was established that the mounts and plantations which belonged the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

and of unknown owner, as belonging to the

Nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

, they would be administered by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. The government body entrusted with this task was the Directorate-General for Forests. In 1855 the Forestry Advisory Board was founded.

Environment becomes a stand-alone ministry

In the 20th century, the competences in the environment were varying in rank, being mere commissions, directorates-general or even secretaries of State. All these competences of the ministry were varying between the ministries of

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

, until 1993 when the term "Environment" reached the rank of ministry, creating the ''Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Environment''. But it was not until 1996 when the Environment obtained its own ministry during the presidency of

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

, creating the Ministry of Environment that was in force until 2011 (in 2008 the Ministry assumed the powers in Rural and Marine Environment).

Merger intro Ministry of Agriculture

In 2011, the new prime minister

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (, ; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

merged this ministry with the Ministry of Agriculture, creating the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011-2016) and later the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (2016-2018).

Independence retrieved by the ministry

In 2018, with the arrival of

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...

to the premiership, he regained the ministry's autonomy by creating a ministry focused on carrying out an

energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...

towards more ecological means of production, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. For this purpose Sánchez appointed

Teresa Ribera Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (; born 19 May 1969) is a Spanish jurist, civil servant, academic, and politician who is the First Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition and Commissioner for Comp ...

as minister and her ministry assumed for the first time responsibilities on energy policy, a policy that historically belonged to the ministries of

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

Economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

. In 2020, in order to improve the environmental policies that this department was doing, the Prime Minister promoted minister Ribera to the rank of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and it trusted her the responsibilities on the different demographic challenges that Spain had. Nowadays, the official name ( in Spanish) is Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico as a new, changed name from the previously named Ministerio del Medio Ambiente.

Denomination of the Ministry

Despite its long history, the agency did not reach the rank of ministry until 1993: * Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Environment (1993-1996) * Ministry of Environment (1996-2008) * Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (2008-2011) * Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011-2016) * Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (2016-2018) * Ministry for the Ecological Transition (2018-2020) * Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (2020-)

Structure

The Ministry's structure is: * The Secretariat of State for Energy ** The Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines ** The Directorate-General for Energy Planning and Coordination * The Secretariat of State for Environment ** The Directorate-General for Water ** The Spanish Office for Climate Change ** The Directorate-General for Environmental Quality and Evaluation ** The Directorate-General for the Coast and the Sea **The Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification * The General Secretariat for the Demographic Challenge. **The Directorate-General for Depopulation Policies *The Undersecretariat ** The Technical General Secretariat **The Directorate-General for Services **The Deputy Directorate-General for International Relations *The Commissioner for Renewable Energies, Hydrogen and Storage, with the rank of Undersecretary. *The Commissioner for the Water Cycle and Ecosystem Restoration, with the rank of Undersecretary. *The Commissioner for the Circular Economy, with the rank of Undersecretary.

Ministry agencies and enterprises

National Parks Autonomous Agency The National Parks Autonomous Agency (OAPN) is an List of agencies in Spain, autonomous agency of the Spanish Government of Spain, central government that manages the List of national parks of Spain, National Parks Network and the Spanish Biospher ...

. *

State Meteorological Agency The State Meteorological Agency (, AEMET) is a state agency of the Government of Spain responsible for providing weather forecast, warnings of hazardous weather and assisting the administrations in such matters. The AEMET is part of the Secretari ...

. * Institute for Just Transition. * Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy. * City of Energy Foundation. * Biodiversity Foundation. * National Company of Radioactive Waste. * Strategic Reserves of Petroleum Products Corporation.

List of officeholders

Office name: *Ministry of Environment (1996–2008) *Ministry for the Ecological Transition (2018–2020) *Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (2020–present)

Notes

References

External links

Ministry of Environment
{{authority control Environment Environment of Spain

Environment Ministries established in 1993 1993 establishments in Spain Environment