Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions rose 4.2% in 2025, second-steepest increase in the EU
Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions grew 4.2% in 2025, the second-largest rise in the EU after Italy's 5.8% and ahead of Spain's 2.2%, according to the European Commission's latest climate progress report. Eight member states saw increases while 19 recorded falls, and the EU average dropped 1.6%. Wildfires were a major factor: more than a million hectares burned across Europe, a record, largely in the Iberian Peninsula in August. Despite the rise, Portugal is among the countries with the biggest surpluses against its 2030 effort-sharing target. Nine states, including Germany and Italy, must submit corrective measures.
Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions rose 4.2% in 2025, second-biggest EU increase
Portugal's greenhouse gas emissions grew by 4.2% in 2025, according to figures from the European Commission. That was the second-largest rise among all European Union member states for the year, placing the country among those moving in the wrong direction on emissions.
Portugal ranks fourth of 65 economies on net-zero progress but slips one place
Portugal places fourth among 65 economies in Allianz Research's 2026 Green Transition Tracker, down one position, with 48.7 points. Its gain of 0.9 points trails both the global average of two and the EU's 2.2. Emissions have fallen 21.6% since 2015 and electric vehicles took 38% of new car sales in 2025. However, the share of low-carbon electricity dropped from 85.2% to 80.9%, despite a 24.9% rise in solar output. Allianz says expanding clean power generation is essential to hold the ranking. Worldwide, net zero would arrive only in 2064 at the current pace.
Águas de Portugal to hold water resilience session at COP31 in Antalya
Grupo Águas de Portugal will run a session on 12 November at the Portugal Pavilion during COP31, which continues in Antalya, Turkey, until 20 November. It will look at how water supply and sanitation systems can adapt to climate change and withstand extreme weather. Topics include supply security, water reuse, the circular economy, energy self-sufficiency, and the role of regulation and investment. Speakers include AdP chairman António Carmona Rodrigues, the heads of three regional water companies and the water regulator ERSAR, with Environment Secretary of State João Manuel Esteves closing. The event can be followed live on the Ministry of Environment and Energy's YouTube channel.
Portugal's weather and sea institute takes ocean-climate science to COP31 in Turkey
Portugal's Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) is attending the 31st UN climate conference, which opened on Monday in Antalya, Turkey. Its focus is the ocean-climate nexus: how science can deepen understanding of the links between the sea and the climate. The institute will be a partner in the Ocean Pavilion, an international platform run by the US-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and will also present projects, tools and results at the Portuguese Pavilion. Topics include marine carbon absorption, coastal protection, environmental monitoring and adaptation. The conference agenda stresses blue carbon, ocean observation, data sharing and coastal resilience.
Cimpor and OYAK Çimento take low-carbon cement showcase to COP31 in Antalya
Cimpor is attending COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, alongside OYAK Çimento, running from 9 to 20 November. It will present sustainable production, circular economy and decarbonisation work through a 100 m² stand, a 150 m² outdoor exhibition area with a 3D concrete printer, and panels in both the Blue and Green Zones. Sessions cover low-carbon materials drawing on operations in Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana, an alliance to speed up calcined clay cements, who finances the transition, and AI and electrification in heavy industry. The company says it wants to show that low-carbon construction is already under way.
Lisbon science faculty launches national climate security and resilience centre with environment ministry backing
The University of Lisbon's Faculty of Sciences has presented the Climate Security and Resilience Centre (CSCR), a national platform combining research, innovation, training and decision support. Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said agencies under her ministry will sign collaboration protocols with it, drawing on advanced modelling, data science, supercomputing and artificial intelligence to anticipate climate events and shape policy. The centre is meant to bring together universities, public administration, civil protection and defence bodies, companies and international organisations. Its work will include risk mapping, early-warning systems, protecting infrastructure and ecosystems, and training professionals.
Viana do Castelo gun factory to more than double its solar power from 2027
Browning's factory in Viana do Castelo, Portugal's largest gunmaker, is expanding its rooftop solar plant to more than double output from early 2027. The existing 1 MW plant, installed in 2024, covered about 12% of the site's electricity use in 2025 and roughly halved the cost of that share compared with buying from the grid. The Swiss firm Youdera has invested over €1.1 million in both phases under a long-term power purchase agreement, so Browning pays no upfront cost. The factory says it will cut around 566 tonnes of CO₂ a year. Battery storage is still only under study.
REN signs €5 million deal with Iberdrola on blackout recovery
Portugal's grid operator REN has agreed a €5 million contract with the Spanish energy company Iberdrola. The deal is meant to help bring electricity supplies back if the country suffers another major blackout.
Portugal plans measures to ease local opposition to renewable energy projects
The Portuguese government is drawing up a plan aimed at improving public acceptance of renewable energy projects. The move responds to strong opposition among the public to installations such as wind turbines and solar parks.
Trás-os-Montes councils claim €348 million in unpaid taxes and rents from energy firms
Municipalities in Trás-os-Montes say energy concession holders owe them €348 million in taxes and other payments. The association's renewable-energy section names EDP, Movhera and Iberdrola, which it says lost property-tax cases in the Mirandela court and have not paid rents on the Baixo Sabor, Foz Tua and Alto Tâmega dams. A Constitutional Court ruling in September found the IMI calculation method unconstitutional, which could affect collection in 135 municipalities. Mayors put the infrastructure's taxable value above €15 billion, worth roughly €45 million a year at a 0.30% rate, and say they will not give up.
Opinion: energy firms should pay local communities for using their land
A columnist argues that energy concessionaires such as EDP profit from exploiting land and local communities without paying a fair return for it. The author says territories are being used, disfigured and dug up for energy production, and declares that such exploitation will not be accepted unless the due compensation is paid.
Portuguese fuel prices ease after weeks of increases
Fuel prices in Portugal have started to come down after several weeks of rises. Motorists should not expect them to return to earlier levels any time soon, however, and the easing does not guarantee that prices will now settle.
