Minister for the Ecological Transition In June 2018, it was announced that Ribera would be the
Minister for the Ecological Transition of the
Sánchez government, following the
motion of censure that the
PSOE presented against the previous government of
Mariano Rajoy (
PP) and that was approved by the
Congress of Deputies. On 1 June 2018, Sánchez appointed her as Minister in the new
Spanish government.
Felipe VI sanctioned by
royal decree of June her appointment as holder of the portfolio of
Minister for the Ecological Transition. On 7 June she took office as Minister before the King at
Palace of Zarzuela. The first measures that Ribera carried out as minister was to end the so-called "sun tax" to allow the free production of power in an effort to increase ecological power and to reduce the price of electricity. In an effort to end
coal pollution and to transform the power production of
Spain, Ribera reached an agreement with unions to close most of the coal mines that still survived in the north of the country by investing
€250 million to avoid a fall in the miners’ standard of living and to restore the environmental balance of the area. In a letter sent to their counterparts in the
European Commission –
Miguel Arias Cañete and
Pierre Moscovici – in May 2019, Ribera and Budget Minister
María Jesús Montero called on the European Union to assess a potential
carbon tax on power imports to protect the bloc's interests and help it to pursue its environmental targets amid growing public concern over climate change. Under Ribera's leadership, the Spanish government stepped in to host the
2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference after
riots over inequality prompted Chile to withdraw with just one month's notice.
Deputy Prime Minister On 13 January 2020, Ribera assumed the office of
Fourth Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge before the King in Zarzuela Palace in the
Sánchez second cabinet. It was the first time in the
history of Spain that a government would have four vice-presidencies. In April 2020, the Prime Minister commissioned Ribera to carry out the plan to ease the lockdown, that is, the way in which the country would exit the
State of Alarm activated due to the
COVID-19 viral pandemic. For this objective, Ribera organized a group of experts in all areas, from economics to epidemiologists. In statements to
EFE news agency in April, Ribera said that the recovery should be done with "green" and "solidary" measures. She then called for a "
Green New Deal" for Spain to both further environmentalism and help the country get out of the national lockdown. She stated in May that tourism, which accounts for
12% of Spanish GDP, was of "particular concern" when it came to the impending
economic recession in Spain due to the coronavirus. , Deputy Prime Minister
Carmen Calvo and
Podemos leader
Pablo Iglesias Turrión, 14 January 2020 On 15 December 2020, Ribera was one of the first European ministers to declare that if it was not possible to make the
Energy Charter Treaty compatible with the
Paris Agreement, there would be no choice but to withdraw from it. In July 2021, after the resignation of Second DPM
Pablo Iglesias, Ribera's post was suppressed and she was appointed
Third Deputy Prime Minister. In May 2021, the Spanish parliament passed the
Climate Change and Energy Transition Act. In late 2021, the cabinet approved Ribera's 16.3 billion euro energy plan, which is to allocate 6.9 billion euros ($7.8 billion) to renewables,
green hydrogen and energy storage over two years and to attract another 9.45 billion euros in private funding under its COVID-19 recovery plan. Ribera, along with
Shauna Aminath, led the working group at the
2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference that facilitated consultations on
mitigation.
European Commissioner On 17 September 2024, the president of the European Commission,
Ursula von der Leyen, announced the composition of the
College of Commissioners for the period 2024–2029. In the case of Teresa Ribera, who had been proposed by the Government of Spain as commissioner, she was chosen to occupy the
Competition portfolio, one of the most relevant of the commission, as well as an executive vice presidency in charge of
environmental affairs,
energy transition and
competition. During her hearings for her commissioner's role, the
European People's Party questioned Ribera over the management of the disastrous
flash floods of October in Valencia, accusing her of ignoring the needs to update, drain and improve the
Rambla del Poyo as the head of the
Ministry of Environment. Despite this initial opposition, her appointment was approved by Parliament on 27 November 2024, assuming the office on 1 December. Ribera expressed support for the
European Green Deal and the
green transition. She said in an interview with
El Pais: "Ursula Von der Leyen has given me a vice presidency: It's a signal that [the green agenda] remains a priority. Environmental transition is one of the great engines of the approaching economic and industrial transformation." In December 2024, Ribera warned that the commission would not postpone the
ban on the sale of combustion engine cars in the EU after 2035. On 7 August 2025, Ribera became the first high-ranking acting member of the EC to accuse the state of
Israel of committing
genocide against Palestinians in the
Gaza war. The European Commission has distanced itself from Ribera's claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. According to a study by scientists from
Utrecht University published in August 2025, the
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) could start to collapse as early as the 2060s. The
collapse of the AMOC would be a severe climate catastrophe, resulting in a cooling of the Northern Hemisphere. Ribera suggested that AMOC should be "added to the list of national security acronyms in Europe" given the serious consequences of AMOC's collapse. == Recognition ==