Second call for climate shelters: two million charged to the tourist tax

The Department of Business, Freelancers and Energy has approved the second public call for grants for the design of shelters as spaces offering thermal comfort in the Balearic Islands, with a budget of 2,000,000 euros funded by the tourist stay tax. The resolution of the counselor Alejandro Sáenz de San Pedro García, signed on October 15, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) no. 136 of October 24, in Section III, page 58601, and takes effect from the day after publication.

The call gives continuity to the first one, approved by resolution of October 18, 2025 (BOIB no. 140, of October 23), and is governed by Order 31/2025, of November 11, of the counselor of Business, Freelancers and Energy, which establishes the regulatory bases regarding energy, energy transition and adaptation to climate change (BOIB no. 151, of November 15, 2025). The regulatory framework is Law 10/2019, of February 22, on climate change and energy transition, and the Climate Emergency Declaration approved by the Governing Council on November 8, 2019.

The text justifies the urgency with climate data: the State Meteorological Agency forecasts for 2100 a temperature increase of between 2 and 5 degrees and up to six or seven annual heatwaves, compared to the current average of one or two. In the urban environment, the heat island phenomenon can raise local temperatures up to 5 ºC above the regional climate, which increases mortality and morbidity in the most vulnerable groups.

Two incentive programs and maximum amounts

The grants are organized into two programs that can be submitted jointly:

• Incentive Program 1: design or improvement of the municipal network of climate shelters, with 100% of the cost subsidizable and a maximum of 25,000 euros for municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and 50,000 euros for those with more than 20,000.
• Incentive Program 2: execution and adaptation of shelters, with a maximum of 80% of the cost and 250,000 euros per beneficiary.
• Project drafting and construction management for program 2: up to 8% of the budget or 25,000 euros.
• Assigned credit: 0 euros in 2026, 1,600,000 euros in 2027 and 400,000 euros in 2028.

Program 2 includes new outdoor shelters, the improvement of existing ones, the renaturalization of corridors connecting the municipal network and the adaptation of indoor public spaces. Program 1 can only be subsidized if it is done jointly with actions from program 2, except when the entity was already a beneficiary of the first call or already has an approved municipal network that meets the requirements.

Beneficiaries and application deadlines

The following entities may apply for the grants:

• Autonomous bodies, public business entities, public commercial companies, public sector foundations, and consortia operating in the Balearic Islands.
• Island councils, city councils, and minor local entities of the archipelago.
• In the case of city councils, they must be adhered to the Pacte de Batlles.

The submission period begins on the tenth business day counted from the day after publication and ends two months after the start date. Applications must be submitted exclusively electronically through the procedure enabled at canviclimatic.caib.es and the Electronic Office. The instruction corresponds to the General Directorate of Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change, through the Climate Change and Atmosphere Service, and the resolution must be issued within a maximum of six months from the end of the period. Only projects that score over 50 points out of 100 will obtain aid.

Thermal comfort, urban greenery and advance payment

The call sets the minimum conditions that a climate shelter must meet:

• Spaces that maintain their uses and provide thermal comfort, interiors at 26 ºC or exteriors with urban greenery and water fountains.
• Open to the public and free, accessible and with resting areas.
• With fountains or hydration points and informative signage.

Projects must be based on nature-based solutions and must contribute to the 3-30-300 rule: seeing at least three trees from home, 30% vegetation cover per neighborhood, and access to quality green spaces within 300 meters. The eligible actions must be carried out between January 1, 2026, and September 30, 2028, and the justification must be submitted before November 1, 2028.

The Governing Council of September 25, 2026, authorized the advance payment of 80% of the aid, without guarantee, charged to the 2027 budget; the remaining 20% is paid once the justifying documentation has been reviewed, charged to 2028. Against the resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months.

The call is the main financing route through which the municipalities of the Islands will be able to expand their network of shelters in the face of increasing heatwaves, and comes after several city councils have approved municipal shelter plans and have shown interest in reducing the heat island effect in urban centers.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands, no. 136, October 24, 2026, Section III, p. 58601 (official reference: ITS2024-2025-084).