According to Greenpeace, Spain is being affected more by climate change than any other EU country.  Up until now, it has just been speculation, but it has now become clear that Spain will be affected by average temperature increases of 1.5 degrees, more than double the global average.

Sea levels around the country are increasing by 3mm a year, the glaciers in the Pyrenees are still disappearing (88% have been lost in the past 100 years) and the wetlands and lagoons are being destroyed.

In short, the climate in the southern half of the peninsula is becoming more and more 'African', whilst the north is becoming more 'Mediterranean'.  These climate changes are already having serious effects on the flora, fauna and agriculture in the country according to Greenpeace's Climate Change spokesperson, Aida Vila.

In a report published by the Spanish branch of Greenpeace, the ecologists have outlined how water shortages, progressive desertification of the land and the increase in temperature are having a 'serious' effect on Spanish fishing, agriculture (especially vineyards and crop-growing in Andalucia) and forests in the north.

Tourism, which generates more money than any other sector in Spain, is also being affected, since rises in temperature increase the chances of extreme weather conditions like droughts and heatwaves and will eventually cause the closure of all Spanish ski resorts.

The country's biodiversity is suffering, with many indigenous plants and trees finding it increasingly difficult to survive the changing conditions that have brought plagues and disease in their wake.

The oceans are also being affected as climate change increases the acidity of the water which releases more CO2 into the atmosphere and has profound effects on marine life around the country's coastline.

In the Canary Islands, for example, the past few years have revealed a very obvious 'tropicalisation' of the marine life with many fish and plants migrating at great speed from the south to the north in order to survive.

Greenpeace has asked the government to invest 2.7 billion euros in combatting these problems that have moved on from being mere threats to being 'palpable reality' and to work towards a commitment in Copenhagen to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees centigrade.