Stage 4: completed our hardest stage to beautiful Guadalupe!
Today we have completed a really special stage that has allowed us to connect two spectacular cities of Extremadura, from Trujillo to Guadalupe, where we have seen the magnificent Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, an important pilgrimage centre in the Iberian Peninsula.
But it has also been the “queen stage” of our trip with an overall cumulative difference of some 1,000 metres. From km 30 there has been no let up, and the succession of ups and downs has dominated, until the last few kilometres, now with the city of Guadalupe in sight, which have been downhill.
The stage of today, with its ups and final downhill could be a good symbol of the pathway we are going through to achieve decarbonisation of the economy. The road in the fight against climate change is full with obstacles, but we learn by doing and move with collective effort. Now, technological progress is on the side of climate, with clean energies (renewables, energy storage, mobility, etc.) undergoing a deep technological revolution, which can spur competitive and cost-effective solutions to drastically reduce emissions. We have the tools to deliver the energy transition, but, with energy-related emissions continuing to grow, we still have a long way to go. We need to implement smart policies and use all the levers (financing, circular economy, etc.) to give the right signals to accelerate their deployment and change behaviours towards more sustainable consumption patterns aligned with our planet´s capacity. This transition will not only provide a solution to climate change, but it also brings opportunities in the form of economic stimulus, employment, lower air pollution and a better life today and for future generations.
