Barcelona Province at the climate frontline: Meet Marc Serra Solé, EU Covenant Board Member and Deputy Chair for Climate and Energy Transition

From supporting municipalities in reaching their energy and climate targets to scaling renewable energy investments and strengthening adaptation measures, Barcelona Province is working to ensure its communities are better prepared for the changing Mediterranean climate. 

Fresh from participating in COP30, Marc Serra Solé, Deputy Chair for Climate and Energy Transition, emphasises the crucial role of local governments in global climate governance and the need for stronger recognition and support in international decision-making.

As a member of the EU Covenant of Mayors Board, Serra Solé brings the perspective of a region on the climate frontline while connecting local priorities with Europe-wide ambitions. In our conversation, he shares insights into Barcelona Province’s most transformative initiatives and explains why empowering local authorities and citizens is essential to delivering an effective and just climate transition.

What are your top priorities as Deputy Chairman of the Province, and how do they align with your region’s long-term vision for sustainability and climate resilience?  

I’m Deputy Chairman in one of the regions that is, and will be, most affected by climate change, as part of the Mediterranean basin. Therefore, my priority is to help our municipalities reach their energy and climate targets in terms of mitigation, and to leave them in a better position in terms of adaptation and resilience to climate change. And we have to be able to do this not in a conventional way, but to do this in the framework of a just climate transition.

Can you share the most exciting or transformative project in your province right now that is helping to meet the EU Covenant of Mayors’ targets? Why does this project stand out for you?  

I would say our investment program Renovables 2030. It’s a strong investment program in renewable energy of circa 200M€ that has helped 200 municipalities (out of our 311) to get closer to their energy and climate objectives.

This program has a new condition: the awarded municipalities take on the commitment to reinvest the money saved though renewable in new energy investment programs, therefore Renovables 2030 produces a snowball effect, creating new energy investments beyond our initial grant.

As a member of the EU Covenant of Mayors Board, what unique perspective or initiative do you hope to bring to the table? What do you hope to learn from your fellow members in return?

In the context of this interview, I would like to highlight our new website: Municipis pel Clima (Municipalities for Climate . It is an information system that compiles data on consumption and emissions from the past twenty years, municipality by municipality. These data are useful for analysing trends and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each city, and they constitute the first necessary phase toward the development of a municipal carbon budget linked to the task of the EU Covenant of Mayors. It is a very communicative way to see where our municipalities stands in terms of cilmate targets fulfilment. It is is an initiative that I strongly recommend to other Covenant Coordinators and Supporters (which is our role in the CoM).

In terms of learning from other members, we are really interested in how they face the funding of adaptation measures. It's something that is hard for our municipalities. We just created a 16M€ funding program, Adaptaclima, but they should not count only on this because the challenge is much bigger.

What makes you proudest about your province, especially in terms of its commitment to sustainability and improving quality of life?

The level of commitment of our municipalities with the EU Covenant of Mayors. More than 90% of our 311 municipalities are in the Covenant, and our level of commitment as a provincial council is to help them to act once they have the Plan, for example with the investment program I mentioned before, Renovables 2030.

You are currently taking part in the COP30 summit in Brazil - what key insights or commitments did you bring back from that experience and what role do you see for local governments in achieving the global goals discussed there? 

Climate science has been showing us, for decades and beyond any doubt, the path we must follow. But the economic interests of large corporations and, in many cases, the lack of political courage have caused these recommendations to languish in a drawer, while the planet has continued to warm and the consequences of emissions have become increasingly severe and visible.

In contrast to this lack of courage, the local level administration has shown the will to act against climate change with initiatives like the EU Covenant of Mayors, because of conviction and also because we are the first to suffer and manage the disasters when that happen. We are definitely part of the solution, and we should be treated as so. Meaning that in multilateral forums such the COP we should have a more prominent role in the decision making and the funding allocation.

Beyond the official duties, how do you personally connect with the people and culture of your province? Any local traditions or hidden gems you would recommend to visitors? 

If there is one thing that characterises Catalan and Barcelonan society, it is that it has a very rich social and cultural association life. For example, in the city of Barcelona alone there are more than 5,000 associations working in areas such as diversity, community action, childcare and popular culture. 

I believe this is the essence of our province and I would like to translate this into the energy transition. Only by making citizens feel like protagonists we will be able to build a new, fairer, and more democratic energy model.