Sustainable Living
The week in the Pulse · 7 – 13 September 2026

Can Portugal turn plans into practical protection?

Portugal set out ambitious answers this week, from restoring protected landscapes to cutting landfill waste. The harder question is delivery. Cities are losing tree cover as climate impacts accelerate, while campaigners are challenging weak safeguards in urban restoration funding. Yet 305 million returned drink containers and plans to bury dangerous power lines show what practical action can look like.

7 daily editions · 144 stories · 7 regions

What shaped the week

Portugal’s sustainability challenge this week was whether delivery can match the pressure. The government approved Terra+, aiming to cut the share of waste sent to landfill to 10% by 2035. Meanwhile, a study in The Lancet found that climate impacts are outpacing Portuguese cities’ responses, while urban tree cover continues to decline. New National Nature Restoration Plan pilots will cover five parks and a montado initiative, with Peneda-Gerês first. But ZERO says almost €8 million for seven urban projects comes with vague native-species requirements, flawed area measurements and no herbicide ban. In Castro Verde, 10 kilometres of power lines will be buried after markers failed to prevent bird deaths. Burial removes collision and electrocution risks, but costs more, takes longer to license and remains less tested in rural Portugal. Waste policy carries a similar test. More than half of Portugal’s waste still goes to landfill, and 13 of 32 sites are nearly full. Terra+ is expected to need €2.3 billion between 2026 and 2030. The volta deposit scheme offers evidence of participation, with 305 million containers returned since 10 April. Eight organisations now want at least 5% of packaging producer contributions reserved for reuse infrastructure. Cities need resilience beyond a single measure. Coimbra will coordinate a 36-month European project testing green drainage for flooding, water quality, biodiversity and heat, though work is still in preparation. By late September, the government plans seismic safety rules for existing buildings, with regional risk built into assessment and mitigation.

Stories behind the week

Restoration under scrutiny

National and urban restoration plans are moving forward, but design and delivery will decide whether habitats benefit. The contrast is clearest between disputed municipal safeguards and Castro Verde’s costly decision to bury power lines where bird markers failed.

Portugal unveils new nature restoration pilot projects under PNRN

Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho announced new pilot projects under the National Nature Restoration Plan (PNRN), covering Peneda-Gerês, Serra da Estrela, São Mamede, Vale do Guadiana and Sudoeste Alentejano parks, plus a montado restoration initiative. Peneda-Gerês will be the first implemented. The PNRN was submitted to the European Commission on 28 August. Carvalho also cited the designation of 61 Special Conservation Zones, the Dom Carlos marine reserve, Iberian lynx conservation work, and a 120-day deadline for APA and Águas de Portugal to address water shortages on the Tagus's south bank. She also referenced the Social Climate Plan, mobilising €1.6 billion by 2032.

Ecosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

ZERO warns urban nature-restoration funding risks becoming greenwashing

The Portuguese government has allocated nearly €8 million from the Environmental Fund to seven municipalities (Beja, Celorico da Beira, Évora, Guimarães, Leiria, São João da Madeira and Vila Real) for pilot urban ecosystem restoration projects ahead of the future Pronaturbe programme. Évora and São João da Madeira receive the largest shares. Environmental association ZERO has asked to be recognised as an interested party and to receive technical details of each project. It warns of structural weaknesses, including vague requirements on native species, an unrealistic budget per square metre, flawed area-measurement methods, and no ban on herbicide use, which could turn the programme into greenwashing.

Ecosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

Portugal to bury 10km of power lines to protect birds

The LIFE PowerLines4Birds project will bury three sections of medium-voltage power lines in the Castro Verde Special Protection Area in 2026, removing 10km of overhead cable. The move targets lines already fitted with markers that failed to stop bird deaths, particularly of the great bustard, which faces collision risk, while species like the Spanish imperial eagle face electrocution. Burying lines is fully effective against both threats but far more costly, slower to license and less tested in rural Portugal than in countries like the Netherlands or Germany. Partners include LPN, SPEA, Quercus, SEO/Birdlife and E-Redes.

AlentejoEcosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

From disposal to reuse

Portugal has set a 2035 landfill target as remaining capacity shrinks. The deposit scheme shows participation at scale, while campaigners argue that producer fees must also build the reuse systems required by forthcoming EU rules.

Portugal approves Terra+ strategy to cut landfill waste

The Portuguese government approved the Terra+ strategy on 4 September, aiming to send only 10% of waste to landfill by 2035. Minister António Leitão Amaro said Portugal is running out of space for its rubbish, with more than half of waste still going to landfill and 13 of the country's 32 landfills nearly full. The plan, following public consultation after its initial approval in April, focuses on waste prevention, behavioural change and better sorting. Implementation is expected to require €2.3 billion in investment, including €1.6 billion in public funds, between 2026 and 2030.

Products, Consumption & CircularRead the full story →

Portugal's bottle deposit scheme surpasses 305 million returns

Portugal's deposit-return scheme, volta, has collected more than 305 million drink containers since launching on 10 April, according to operator SDR Portugal. Returns tripled in the last two months alone, after passing 100 million in July. Around 5 million containers are now returned daily, roughly 57 per second, through a network of over 3,000 automated collection points plus manual points and dedicated kiosks. Seven of twelve planned kiosks are already running, with five more being installed, as SDR Portugal aims to reach 50 nationwide and keep expanding capacity for returning packaging to the circular economy.

Products, Consumption & CircularRead the full story →

Groups demand 5% of packaging fees fund reuse systems

Eight organisations, including Circular Economy Portugal and ZERO, have asked Portugal's environment and economy ministries to legally require that at least 5% of extended producer responsibility (EPR) contributions from packaging be allocated to reuse infrastructure. The proposal responds to EU rules requiring reuse targets from 2030, covering food service, beverage containers and e-commerce packaging. The groups cite France, where a similar mechanism mobilised about €167.9 million between 2023 and 2025, supporting some 300 million reused packages in 2025. They also offered to arrange a meeting between the government and France's Citeo agency.

Products, Consumption & CircularRead the full story →

Resilience still catching up

Portuguese cities face overlapping climate and infrastructure risks. Declining tree cover exposes the adaptation gap, while Coimbra’s drainage research and proposed seismic rules show different forms of resilience that remain under development.

Portuguese cities adapt to heat but keep losing tree cover, report finds

A study published in The Lancet examines how Portuguese cities are responding to climate change, finding that adaptation efforts are underway but urban tree cover continues to decline. José Chen-Xu, the study's lead author, warns that the impacts of climate change are growing faster than the capacity of Portuguese cities to respond. The research points to a widening gap between the pace of environmental change and the measures being implemented to counter it, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current urban adaptation strategies.

Ecosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

Coimbra to lead EU project on climate-resilient urban drainage

The Polytechnic University of Coimbra will coordinate ResSuDSCita, a European project developing sustainable urban drainage systems to make cities more resilient to climate change. Running for 36 months under the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership, it involves partners from Portugal, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Sweden, plus municipal company Águas de Coimbra, with total investment exceeding one million euros. Led by researcher Joaquim Sousa, the multidisciplinary team will test green infrastructure that reduces flooding, improves water quality, boosts biodiversity and eases urban heat islands, while incorporating industrial waste into drainage solutions under circular economy principles. The project is currently in its preparation phase.

CentroEnergy, Water & MobilityRead the full story →

Portugal to propose seismic safety rules for existing buildings by late September

Portugal's government plans to present new rules on seismic safety for existing buildings by the end of September, with the Algarve, Alentejo Litoral, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, and the Azores identified as the most vulnerable areas. The framework, developed with the LNEC engineering institute, will assess, classify and mitigate seismic risk in buildings, accounting for regional differences in hazard levels. Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz also announced a permanent monitoring mechanism for bridges and slopes, following an LNEC audit that carried out 53 inspections after severe weather. Related resilience measures total over 1.1 billion euros.

Construction & HousingRead the full story →

The map keeps filling in. This week we added 24 projects and 74 events. Sustainable Living now connects 414 projects, 253 upcoming events and 842 people across Portugal.

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