Greenpeace blames corruption scandals and recession for looser environmental controls in Spain

Spain’s economic crisis and successive corruption scandals have led to looser environmental regulations which have taken a huge toll on the environment, Greenpeace said in a report published this week.
   The environment is “one of the main victims of the crisis” which was sparked by the collapse of a decade-long building boom in 2008. the group said in the 47-page report.
“There are hundreds of corruption cases which have left behind them natural spaces covered in cement and soil contaminated by hazardous waste,” the report added.
There were 1,754 court cases involving suspected illegalities related to urban planning decisions in 2011 alone, it said.
The “revolving door” of officials between posts in the public office and the private sector “creates a vicious circle where policies are made to benefit companies,” Greenpeace added.
The report analysed the impact of policies put in place by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government since it came to power in 2011 as well as the state of the environment in Spain, the second-most visited nation in Europe after France.
“Laws which were good were eliminated or weakened,”  a spokesman for the Spanish branch of Greenpeace, Julio Barea said.