Portugal's voluntary carbon market registers first forest projects

Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said Portugal's Voluntary Carbon Market is becoming a reality, citing the first registered projects in Sabugal and Penalva do Castelo. Speaking at an EU Green Week event, she noted that a registration platform was launched in April and the government approved regulations to operationalise the market, alongside training initiatives in the Azores and soon Madeira. She said the market should expand beyond forestry to cover blue carbon and marine ecosystems, and eventually extend towards broader "nature credits". Secretary of State for Forests Rui Ladeira stressed coordinated ecosystem management amid climate change challenges.