Portuguese Environment Agency Claims Portugal Is European Country Most Impacted By Climate Change

THE vice-president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has claimed that Portugal is the country in Europe where climate change is having the greatest impact.

Speaking during a conference at an environmental forum in Macau, Carlos Pimenta Machado stated that, Portugal suffers, even among the most vulnerable countries in southern Europe.

‘Portugal is where climate change is having the greatest impact, on water, on the rise in temperature’, he said. Machado described what is happening in Europe as: ‘Fires, with more concentrated rain, and long periods of drought, impacting economic activities and the ecosystem’.

On the subject of water management in the context of climate change, the vice president of the APA reaffirmed, on the one hand, Portugal’s intention to bring forward the country’s commitment to carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2045.

Machado emphasised the success of Portugal’s environmental policies

Machado took the opportunity to list some of the challenges and emphasise the success of Portugal’s environmental policies, as reported by observador.pt.

He highlighted the: ‘Incredible, remarkable work in terms of sanitation and wastewater treatment’, which the official described as ‘the Portuguese miracle’.

The quality of the water on the beaches was also mentioned, in a country that is also faced with the fact that: “More than 50 per cent of the water that reaches Portugal comes from Spain‘.

Coastal erosion he explained: ‘is obviously another challenge’ for Portugal which, he stressed, has sought to advance in river rehabilitation and is one of the European countries ‘with the best performance’ in terms of renewable energy.

Carlos Pimenta Machado recalled that his country was: ‘the fourth in Europe to eliminate energy production from coal, in 2019’. It was also seventh in the ranking among the 27 in the European Union with regard to the use of renewable energy sources he added.

The Forum ends on Sunday, August 20

The Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum and Exhibition opened on Thursday 17 and ends on Sunday 20. This event occupies an area in excess of 10,000 m² and features more than 400 exhibitors, including 40 foreign exhibitors.

During the 20 forums and conferences planned, around 30 environmental innovators, heads of multinational companies and political decision-makers from various countries and regions will be speaking. These include mainland China, Europe, Portuguese-speaking countries, Southeast Asian nations, Hong Kong and Macau.

The Forum, being held at the Venetian’s Cotai Expo, has the theme of ‘Building an ecological civilisation through innovative initiatives’.

It also aims to: ‘Promote international exchange and cooperation in the field of environmental protection between different sectors, including governments, industries, universities, research institutes, users and investors’.