Today’s ESG Updates
- Spain Pushes for EU Climate Adaptation Fund: Proposal includes new funding, five-yearly climate-risk assessments, and binding targets across key sectors as extreme weather losses mount.
- France Announces €1bn Farmer Support Package: The FNSEA estimates at least €10bn in lost production due to extreme weather, with 30,000–35,000 farms now in financial difficulty.
- Portugal Approves €2.3bn Waste Investment: The plan aims to reduce landfill use by expanding separate collection and upgrading waste infrastructure.
- India Plans Mandatory Battery Storage from 2027: Proposed battery requirements would allow surplus solar and wind power to be stored and dispatched when demand rises.
Spain calls for stronger EU climate adaptation measures as losses reach €822bn
Spain has urged the EU to establish a dedicated Climate Adaptation Fund and introduce binding targets as the costs of extreme weather rise. Madrid estimates EU countries have suffered €822 billion in climate-related losses since 1980, with around a quarter incurred between 2021 and 2024.
In a letter to EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, Spain’s environment minister Sara Aagesen said reactive policies were no longer sufficient to protect Europe’s “security, prosperity and competitiveness”. The proposal includes funding through levies such as a charge on oil and gas profits, alongside common EU debt instruments.
Spain also called for five-yearly climate-risk assessments at EU, national and regional levels, with binding adaptation targets for water, health, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and other sectors. It proposed strengthening the EU’s civil protection system into a permanent climate-emergency response mechanism, alongside a European reinsurance scheme and climate-risk bonds. The European Commission is currently updating its climate adaptation strategy.
France unveils €1bn aid package for farmers after record heatwaves
France has announced more than €1 billion in aid for farmers after record heatwaves and droughts devastated crops, pastures and water supplies this summer.
“One billion euros represents a massive effort given the current budgetary context,” Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said. Around €520 million will be distributed as rapid payments to cover weather-related losses.
A further €235 million recovery fund will help farmers buy seeds and animal feed. The package also includes land-tax relief, social-security support and a fuel subsidy.
France’s main farmers’ union, FNSEA, estimates at least €10 billion in lost production, while 30,000 to 35,000 farms are facing financial difficulties. The finance ministry estimates the disruption could cut economic growth by 0.1 percentage points this year.
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India to require battery storage for new solar and wind projects
India plans to require battery storage for all new solar and onshore wind projects from July 2027, under draft regulations from the Central Electricity Authority.
Projects commissioned after July 1, 2027 would need storage equal to at least 10% of capacity for two hours. From July 2029, the minimum duration would rise to four hours, while the capacity requirement remains unchanged.
The measures aim to address growing challenges in managing intermittent renewable power as India rapidly expands solar and wind capacity. Nearly 14% of solar output was curtailed between April and June, as daytime power surpluses coincided with limited transmission capacity.
The draft rules would also require projects commissioned after July 2027 to use grid-forming inverters, which can help maintain voltage and frequency stability as renewables account for a larger share of electricity generation.
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Portugal approves €2.3bn plan to tackle waste crisis
Portugal has approved a €2.3 billion ($2.67 billion) investment plan through 2030 to address a growing waste disposal crisis as landfill capacity declines.
Thirteen of the country’s 32 landfill sites are nearing capacity. Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro called the issue one of Portugal’s biggest “hidden problems”.
Portugal generates 5.3 million tonnes of municipal waste each year, with 59% sent to landfill. That is well above the national and EU target of reducing landfill use to 10% by 2035.
The plan will expand separate waste collection and recycling, upgrade treatment infrastructure and increase biowaste processing. It will be funded by government and EU funds, alongside private-sector investment.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Valentin Ivantsov
