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In a much-expected announcement, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) confirmed today the appointment of Ms. Sara Aagesen as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Aagesen, 48, until now the Deputy Minister for Energy, will substitute her former boss, Ms. Teresa Ribera, who recently received confirmation to serve as the Spanish European Commissioner and Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, after much a much-heated initial opposition from the European’s People Party (EPP).
Aagesen will oversee several of the European Green Deal Policies the European Commission is currently working with the Spanish Government.
According to Sánchez “Aagesen is set to continue the legacy of Ribera.” The Prime Minister underscored her technical background and expertise.
Aagesen “is one of the leading experts in the ecological transition and environmental policy and shares the same values as Ribera,” said the Prime Minister this morning at an institutional address from the Moncloa Palace.
Sánchez argued that under Aagesen’s leadership “Spain will continue to be one of the leading voices in Europe and the world on the green and just transition.”
The Prime Minister also said Ribera “leaves an indelible mark in our country.” “Our loss in Spain is a victory for Europe as a whole,” he added.
This morning Aagesen swore her oath before the King of Spain, making her appointment official.
Sánchez did not address his alleged involvement in the corruption plot that has Sánchez’s wife and former ministers currently under investigation from the Spanish Justice authorities.
A largely unknown figure, Sara Aagesen holds a chemical engineering degree from Madrid’s Complutense University. Before her time in Sánchez’s government, she worked in the Spanish Climate Change Office for 16 years.
Aagesen served as a negotiator for the Spanish delegation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002. She has also been a member of the advisory board for the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which operates under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
She has contributed as a national expert to several European Commission working groups, focusing on monitoring and evaluating the development of EU regulatory frameworks.
As Deputy Minister of the Energy portfolio, she oversaw sectorial analyses of greenhouse gas emissions, and regulations over the energy market and prices.
During her time under Ribera, Aagesen was part of the “Iberian exception” scheme, a measure agreed upon with the European Commission that allowed Spain and Portugal to intervene the energy market and cap the price of natural gas.
Aagesen becomes Ecological Transition Minister at a time where the institution is being highly questioned after the devastating floods in the Valencian Community in Eastern Spain which have left hundreds of casualties and millionaire sums in damage.
The Conservative opposition party VOX said last week that the Ministry’s “climate fanatism has killed more than 200 Spaniards” in the floods.
VOX accused Sánchez’s government at large for its “inaction” during the crisis and pointed at the Ministry for neglecting to build infrastructure for water management and control in zones with high probability of flooding according to reports drafted by the Ministry itself during Teresa Ribera’s tenure as Minister.
As one of Sánchez’s Deputy Prime Minister, Aagesen will have a frontline seat in national politics, a far cry from her technocratic positions so far.
Her appointment “is a victory for Spain, and for Europe,” Sánchez added.
With Ribera’s ascension to the European Commission first Vice Presidency, second only to Ursula Von der Leyen, the Spanish Prime Minister has managed to place two of his former Deputy PMs into high-level European posts, the other being Nadia Calviño—his former Economic Minister—who now heads the European Investment Bank (EIB).