Portugal urges EU to copy its model for taxing oil firms
Portugal's finance minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, proposed that the European Commission use Portugal's own methodology as a starting point for a possible EU-wide tax on oil companies' windfall profits, an idea Brussels has so far resisted. Speaking in Dublin before an informal meeting of eurozone finance ministers, he said Portugal was one of six countries pushing the Commission for a common proposal, arguing an EU-level measure would be more harmonised than national rules. He noted Portugal's own proposal, taxing 20% of the average profit over the last two years, is already before parliament and could serve as a working basis for a European framework.
Batalha council adds €1.56m for climate resilience and storm repairs
Batalha's municipal council unanimously approved a budget revision on 14 November, adding €1.56 million in investment. The funds will finance climate adaptation works on municipal, school and cultural buildings, plus climate shelters, alongside continued repairs to structures, green spaces and parks damaged by storm Kristin. Other newly funded projects include the Vale do Lena Ecopark, green corridors along the Lena river, active mobility routes in Batalha, works at the São Mamede Pavilion and the Boutaca Bridge upgrade. Mayor André Sousa said the revision addresses both storm damage and the need to prepare the municipality for climate change.
Sousel amends zoning plan for €50m biomethane plant
An opinion piece discusses a change to Sousel's Municipal Master Plan (PDM), made with the CCDR Alentejo, to enable a biomethane plant with a planned investment of €50 million. The author argues that attracting such industry requires municipalities to plan beyond land and access, addressing housing for future workers, including those who may come from other regions or countries. It calls for training local youth, involving companies and private investment in housing solutions, and for firms to disclose staffing needs early, with NERPOR potentially helping coordinate the response.
AMBILITAL to install 171 used cooking oil bins in Alentejo
AMBILITAL, the intermunicipal company operating in municipalities including Alcácer do Sal, Grândola and Sines, has launched a public tender to collect and recover used cooking oil. The plan involves installing 171 collection points, with a three-year investment of 153,900 euros covering collection, transport, treatment and a digital platform to monitor how full the bins are. The move follows a separate 9.1 million euro investment, partly EU-funded, to improve biowaste treatment for agricultural compost production across the seven municipalities the company serves.
ISQ applies EU's safety-and-sustainability-by-design approach in Portugal
The ISQ, a Portuguese technology institute, is applying the EU-promoted Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach in its research and development projects. The method integrates safety and sustainability criteria from a product's earliest design stages, rather than testing them only once development is nearly complete. It covers factors such as workers' safety, environmental impact, resource use, waste, end-of-life management and dependence on critical raw materials. According to the ISQ, addressing these issues early can be simpler and cheaper than making changes later, and can help companies prepare for tightening environmental and safety requirements. The institute says it has built expertise through participation in European research consortia.
