In national terms, Spain used to be one of the worst offenders in terms of CO2 emissions, with a 48 per cent rise between 1990 and 2006. Previous prime minister Zapatero pledged to cut Spain´s greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels), and to produce 30 per cent of its energy from sustainable sources (8.7 per cent in 2006), half from wind power, by 2010.
In the first half of 2009, emissions in Spain fell by a whopping 17 per cent, due to industrial slowdown and increased renewable power - an unexpected upside to the current economic crisis. In terms of clean energy, globally, in 2008, over half the world´s solar power was produced in Spain, with the country being home to half the planet's solar installations. In total, 2.2 per cent of Spain´s electricity is produced by solar plants, predicted to rise to 2.5 per cent. And wind power is not lagging behind - on one gusty weekend in November 2008, over half - 53 per cent - of the country´s electricity was produced by wind turbines. The annual average is 13 per cent.