Associação Zero challenges Portugal to be the European leader in climate neutrality
“Portugal can and must do more, assuming a strong and ambitious leadership at the level of the European Union”, said an environmental association in a press release, marking the six years since the signing of the Paris Agreement at the 21st Conference of Nations United Nations on Climate Change (COP21), held on Sunday, one month after COP26.
Zero maintained that, with the approval of the Basic Climate Law, “Portugal has already opened the way to anticipating the goal of climate neutrality by committing to assess it by 2025, reach it by 2045 or even before that” and that “the data indicate that the strong growth of renewable sources in our country will allow us to ensure this anticipation”.
However, taking into account these advances, Zero called for studies in this regard to begin as early as 2022.
For Zero, the European Union must also demonstrate “more ambition, developing all transfer efforts for a quick, fair and sustainable transition to a 65% (and not just 55%) source reduction between 1990 and 2030, for to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2040 and to anticipate a climate neutrality target for 2040 ”
Despite admitting that, for the first time, countries committed to reducing global warming in the Paris Agreement, Zero warned that “the policies and actions that are being implemented continue to be insufficient” to respond to the crisis and the objective .
“Continuing to witness an imbalance between mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change, funding remains unfulfilled and is far from being aligned with the real needs of the planet and of people and goals verified by most countries continues below the ambition that is needed at the moment”, defended the environmental association.
Despite all the warnings, the environmental association recognized the progress of the countries that signed the Paris Agreement in reducing greenhouse gases and increasing the production and incorporation of renewable energy.
FCC // CFF