Gaia urged to draft overdue climate action plan

Ambassadors of the European Climate Pact have called on Vila Nova de Gaia's council to launch a participatory process to draft its Municipal Climate Action Plan, which Portuguese law required all municipalities to have in force since December 2023. Geographer Mafalda Bastos de Moura says the absence of an approved plan is harming sectoral policies and leaves residents without guidance on risks such as sea level rise and heatwaves. Residents met on 18 July with the Associação Último Recurso to draft an open letter to the council. The group also criticised a new swimming pool facility as showing a lack of integrated climate planning.