Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has again used blunt language to warn that climate change is killing people and damaging the country as wildfires continue to burn across Spain. Earlier this week, amid wildfires that have consumed more than 180,000 hectares of land in the first seven months of 2026, he said: "The climate emergency kills. And that's why it's not enough to address the consequences, which we do; what we have to do is reduce its causes, anticipate its effects, and, consequently, better prepare our country to protect people's lives."
The statement comes as Spain sits on the southern frontier of the world's fastest-heating continent, becoming increasingly vulnerable to droughts, desertification, erratic weather patterns, heavy rains and wildfires. But while 84% of Spaniards see the climate emergency as "a real threat to human wellbeing and to the health of the planet," according to a survey published in December 2024 by Spain's state research institute, the Centre for Research Studies, the political divide remains wide.
The Human Cost
Sánchez has long spoken out about the realities of global heating. Just over four years ago, he visited a small town in Extremadura after one of the wildfires that were devouring tens of thousands of hectares across Spain. That summer's blazes left two people dead in Castilla y León, and another man there was fatally burned after the excavator he was using to try to dig a firebreak to protect his town was swallowed up by the flames. A street-sweeper in Madrid collapsed and died from heatstroke while on shift in soaring temperatures that summer, and paramedics recorded his body temperature at 41.6C (107F).
At the time, Sánchez told reporters in Extremadura: "I want to make something very clear. Climate change kills: it kills people, as we've seen; it also kills our ecosystem, our biodiversity, and it also destroys the things we as a society hold dear – our houses, our businesses, our livestock."
The Right's Response
Opposition parties have rejected Sánchez's plans for a "state pact" to prepare Spain for the climate emergency. On Monday, Spain's conservative People's party accused the government of using the "mantra" of climate crisis to mask its "poor management" of natural disasters. The PP's spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, said: "That the climate changes is something that has occurred throughout the history of humanity and the Earth – that's obvious. Now how do we humans act in the face of things that change?"
The PP's record on the climate crisis and emergency response is mixed. When floods hit Valencia at the end of October 2024, its PP regional president, who eventually resigned, was having a three-hour lunch with a journalist and did not arrive at the response centre until the early evening, by which time many people had drowned in their homes, garages and cars.
The PP president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has asked the central government to take overall control of the wildfire response. But Ayuso, described as a rightwing populist, has questioned the scientific basis of the climate emergency and called it an "agenda" pushed by "lobbies" and "communists." Her views are said to resemble those of the far-right Vox party, which says the current wildfires have nothing to do with the climate emergency and everything to do with a failure to clear rural areas of excess vegetation and to invest in firefighting services.
What the Science Says
Experts and climate scientists say the blazes are caused by a combination of factors: the abandonment of rural areas, an abundance of highly flammable, dry vegetation, and an increase in heatwaves driven by climate breakdown.
On Wednesday, a Vox MEP, Jorge Buxadé, posted what purported to be an official air ministry document showing that temperatures of more than 44C had been recorded at observation stations around Spain as far back as the 1950s. Spain's state meteorological office, Aemet, said on social media that the document was fake. Aemet said: "We've reviewed the data, and all but one station's data are false. If they were true, they wouldn't deny climate change: there were heatwaves before, but now they're more frequent and intense."
Why This Matters:
Spain's climate debate reveals a dangerous political fracture at precisely the moment when unity is most needed. With more than 180,000 hectares already burned this year and public awareness at 84%, the gap between scientific consensus and political denial threatens lives. The far right's strategy of spreading disinformation — including fake temperature data debunked by Spain's own meteorological office — undermines emergency response and prevents the long-term planning required to protect vulnerable communities. When regional leaders question the climate emergency while simultaneously demanding central government intervention, they reveal the hollowness of their position: they want the state to solve crises they refuse to name. Workers like the Madrid street-sweeper who died at 41.6C body temperature, and the firefighter swallowed by flames while defending his town, deserve better than political theatre. Climate adaptation requires investment, coordination, and honesty — not conspiracy theories about communist lobbies.