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Catalan civil society association Òmnium Cultural will organise a massive event this Friday to pay tribute to Francoism's forgotten victims and condemn the crimes committed during Franco's dictatorship. The homage coincides with the 40^th anniversary of General Francisco Franco's death, who died in bed afterwinning the Spanish Civil War, with the aid of Hitler and Mussolini, and leading a regime of terror that lasted 36 years. Different to what happened in Germany or Italy after their fascist regimes, Spain started a transition period towards democracy but many crimes were left unpunished. The homage will take place in Barcelona's Model prison, since it was "a symbol of repression and torture" during Francoism, stated Òmnium's president, Quim Torra. Òmnium has also written a document which "condemns the dictatorship" and urges for the "victims' reparation".

The Catalan Government was one of 14 regional executives to sign the 'Under 2 Memorandum of Understanding' in May 2015 as part of a pact to reduce CO₂ emissions by 80-95% by 2050 among the signing territories. This goal is an effort to mitigate the worst effects of climate change coming from greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years, the Catalan Government has been working toward improving energy efficiency and developing a greater supply of renewable energy through various initiatives and action plans. However, the biggest changes necessary for Catalonia to adopt the renewable, low-emissions energy model it desires cannot be implemented by the Catalan Government, but would have to come from the Spanish Government instead. Overall, the biggest challenge facing the adoption of renewable energy is being able to produce it at prices competitive with conventional sources of power.

There has been discussion among the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) to approve construction of Spain's Temporary Centralised Storage Facility, more commonly referred to as the ATC (Almacén Temporal Centralizado), and a decision is expected in the coming days. The Spanish Government designated Villar de Cañas in Castilla-La Mancha's Cuenca Province as the location for the ATC at the end of 2011 to temporarily store 6,700 tU of radioactive waste accumulated in the country, including high-activity radioactive materials that could not previously be stored in any facility within Spain's borders. At present, nuclear reactors – including three active in Catalonia – must manage high-level waste on-site, either in light water pools or in dry storage casks until it can be shipped to a completed ATC. While Catalonia's nuclear power plants are licensed far into the 2020s, environmental concerns over the safety of radioactive waste hang over nuclear energy's future.

An increasing number of people are fed up with living in concrete jungles. Many think of the countryside as a solution to problems such as stress, a low-paying job and pollution. Due to the start of the economic crisis, this phenomenon boomed, with people beginning to look for an 'alternative way of life' or, at least, new opportunities. Catalonia and the whole of Spain are no exception to this. Here, moving (back) to the countryside nowadays looks like an attractive option to many, especially to young unemployed graduates. However, sustainable agriculture initiatives and the like are the 'junior division' compared to more complex social, cultural and ecological experiments: the eco-villages. Coming in different shapes and sizes, their members share resources and spaces, grow their own food and cover in a sustainable way the energy demand of the buildings they live in. With different missions and features, many eco-villages can be traced back to one or two decades ago and could teach a lot to newcomers.

On Tuesday, ahead of the United Nations conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris this autumn, Catalonia signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' in Sacramento (California), together with 11 other US states, Mexican states, Canadian provinces and regional governments. By taking this step, the Catalan Government and the other signatories commit to cut total greenhouse emissions to 80%-95% below 1990 levels by 2050 or to cut per capita emissions to below 2 metric tons during the same timeframe. The 12 founding signatories to the agreement span seven countries and three continents, with a total population of 100 million people and about $4.5 trillion in combined GDP. Apart from Catalonia, the signatories include: California, Vermont, Oregon and Washington (USA); Acre (Brazil); Baden-Württemberg (Germany); Baja California and Jalisco (Mexico); Ontario and British Columbia (Canada); and Wales (UK). More states, nations and cities are expected to join the agreement in the coming months.

The Spanish Ministry of Education has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Catalonia (TSJC) to cancel the already-sent enrolment applications for the next school year in order to include the option of choosing Spanish as the language of tuition. Five parties representing 80% of the Catalan Parliament have strongly protested against this "new attack" on a school model that guarantees that pupils master both Spanish and Catalan and has many flexibility measures for newcomers. The model is also backed by an extremely broad majority of Catalan society and only a few dozen families, out of the 1.55 million pupils in Catalonia, had requested education in Spanish. Linguistic immersion in Catalan ensures knowledge of the language by children who are not regularly exposed to it, while the model also ensures knowledge of Spanish. Therefore, equal opportunities and complete bilingualism are ensured. However, the model has been the target of Spanish nationalists for a long time.

A strategic gas pipeline is to be built through the Catalan Pyrenees, linking the Iberian Peninsula with France and Central Europe. The Midcat project aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas by 40%, diversifying the sources of supply. The pipeline should be operational by 2020, announced on Thursday the Spanish Minister for Industry, José Manuel Soria. The day before, French President, François Hollande, Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, Portuguese PM, Pedro Passos Coelho, and European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, re-launched the project's construction. Midcat started to be planned in 2007 but it was halted for several years, mainly due to a lack of interest from French companies and institutions, which were not guaranteeing to build their part. Now, the crisis with Russia has reignited the urge to find alternative gas suppliers for Central Europe.

Joan Herrera, the leader of the Catalan Green Socialist and post-Communist coalition ICV-EUiA, also held his own conference on Catalonia's political future and self-determination road map, after those of the Catalan President, the Spanish Prime Minister and three other political leaders. Despite supporting Catalans' right to vote on independence, Herrera rejected exclusively voting on independence, since after years of budget cuts and corruption scandals, citizens also have to vote on social issues and measures to clean up the democratic system. Herrera strongly criticised the austerity measures approved by the centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU and the People's Party (PP). The ICV-EUiA does not have an official position regarding independence and about half of its leadership and voters would support it, while the other half supports greater powers for the Catalan Government within a federal Spain.

The Constitutional Court has accepted the Spanish Government's appeal against the Catalan Executive' decree from December 2013 with which families in need are protected from their household electricity and gas being cut off by energy supply companies during winter months. The Catalan Government's measure aimed to fight the so-called 'energy poverty': people who cannot afford to pay for their energy bills because they do not get minimum income. The decree was not a cancellation of the bills but to allow those families to postpone the payment during the winter months. However, the Spanish Executive considered that the Catalan measure represented a "discrimination" against the citizens from other Autonomous Communities, who have to pay their energy bills on time. The appeal goes against Catalonia's political autonomy and is arbitrary. The Catalan Government stated it was "upset" by the ban and added that it will find an alternative way to help those families.

The 36 wind farms currently in Catalan territory produce enough electricity to supply 2 million people every year and, at the same time, they place Catalonia eighth in the ranking of wind producers in Spain. According to the Catalan Government’s Energy Plan valid until 2015, wind power production could continue to grow and reach 3,500 megawatts.

However, if the question is open to other options, 33% would prefer a Catalan State within a Federal Spain, 31.8% the current situation as an Autonomous Community and 25.5% want Catalonia to be an independent nation. The poll results also show that 75.5% of Catalans want the Catalan Government to raise all the taxes, while only 18.2% prefer the current system through which the Spanish Government raises the main taxes. The poll was compiled by the Catalan Polling Centre (CEO), which is managed by the Catalan Government.

Red Eléctrica, the corporation that operates the electricity transmission system and electricity grid throughout Spain and the French company RTE start work this year. This key infrastructure will enable transporting solar power from Northern Africa to Central Europe.

The Spanish Government demands an additional budget reduction of 3.2 billion euros to Catalonia, while the Catalan Government claims 3.3 billion owed by the Spanish State. Catalan parties have accused Prime Minister Zapatero of reducing his government’s deficit by increasing that of the autonomous communities. The Spanish Government wants to force Autonomous Communities to pay for the deficit by limiting it through specific laws.

The Catalan Group on the Future of Europe sent their conclusions to the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe before the Reflection Group presented their results to the European Council. Today’s event was a way to foster debate in Catalonia on these issues and a way to show the results from the analysis by the Catalan Group on the Future of Europe. President of the Reflection Group on the Future of Europe 2020-2030 (and former Spanish PM) Felipe González. has summed up the conclusions.

Antoni Castells considers that the minimum social conditions necessary for consensus do not exist, as the energy model is often used as a political weapon. In the last 5 years there have been large controversies around mergers within the Spanish energy se