The Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret i Aleu, visited the Ter-Llobregat Water Supply Agency (ATL) with the 21 Government delegates abroad, who this week are in Barcelona to strengthen the coordination of the country’s foreign action and intensify it. At the ATL, they were able to see first hand “the efforts, technological innovation, and investments” of the complex that supplies water to about a hundred municipalities in the most populated areas of Catalonia in the current drought situation, explained Serret.

“For months now, the Government has been advocating at international and, above all, European level that the challenge of climate change and drought in the Mediterranean deserves special attention,” noted the minister, referring to institutional visits such as those to Tunisia, Stockholm, Marseille and Alicante. “In Catalonia, we are positioning ourselves as a benchmark in building resilience against climate change,” she added. This is because the Government, through the Special Drought Plan, has generated water through desalination, reclamation, and drought wells, which has filled the Sau reservoir, thereby postponing the most severe restrictions by a year and a half.

The government also allocated over 1 billion euros to drought management in the 2024 draft budget, though it was blocked in Parliament. Nevertheless, “we in the Government maintain a firm commitment to continue providing the maximum support for the necessary investments,” assured Serret. Indeed, a week ago it approved a package of 145 million euros for emergency investment in the coming months.

“The way in which we in Catalonia have overcome drought has attracted international interest,” the minister said, “and it affords us a certain influence in introducing the Mediterranean perspective into European policies”. In this sense, the Government is also leading the project for the creation of the Mediterranean macroregion, which involves connecting the Mediterranean shores to find solutions to the shared challenge of climate change and its effects.

“The management of drought that we are undertaking gives us the capacity to influence and makes us a benchmark in Southern Europe, within the Mediterranean area, in terms of innovation, expertise, cooperation, and exchange of ideas to build joint solutions to global challenges such as climate change,” concluded the Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, accompanied by the Government delegates abroad, who provide coverage in 72 countries and contribute to the internationalisation of best practices in drought management.