The government says the country is complying with the Basic Climate Law “in what matters most”

On Monday, the government found the country to be “substantially” compliant with the Basic Law on Climate (LBC), disagreeing with a lawsuit brought by environmental association Último Recurso.

This Monday, the association announced legal action against the Portuguese state for failure to implement the basic climate law due to “very serious inaction” on the part of the government in the fight against the climate crisis.

Considering that this action constitutes a “citizen’s right”, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action considers that “there are results, also internationally recognized, consistent with the main objectives of the Basic Climate Law”, and “substantially, in terms of importance , deadlines are being met.”

In response to Lusa, after the announcement this Monday of the legal action, the guardianship emphasized that “Portugal is one of the most advanced countries in the European Union in terms of climate change” and in the “Portugal Recovery and Resilience Plan” more than 40% of the funds are dedicated to the goals related to this topic.

“Portugal was the first country in the world to announce, back in 2016, a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050” and “with the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plan in June 2023, Portugal is in a position to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045.” five years ahead of schedule,” the ministry said in a statement.

The plan also sets 2040 “electricity generation goals of 80% renewable energy in 2026; 85% in 2030 – and ending the production of electricity (gas) based on fossil fuels.”

These proposals do not satisfy the environmentalists who filed the lawsuit this Monday.

Speaking to Lusa, the president of Último Recurso, Mariana Gómez, said she is convinced that this will be a “historic action”, the first in the country to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through court decisions.

Quercus and Sciaena have formally confirmed their support by jointly signing this civil lawsuit, reaffirming their joint commitment to climate justice, noted Último Recurso.

Regarding the objectives of the lawsuit filed this Monday, the environmentalist listed four: “We want it to be declared that the Portuguese State has not taken necessary and sufficient measures to ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. … It should also be assumed that it does not take the policy and legislative measures envisaged in the main climate law.”

“We also want the state to be ordered to take these measures, and to be required to pass all policies that have already missed deadlines, and for a judge to decide that the state will have three months to comply with all major climate law. “, he added.

The associations aim to replicate the German case in Portugal, where the courts have adopted more ambitious policy measures.

According to the activist, applying the law “ideally would mean that Portugal, by 2030, would be able to achieve the reduction in CO2 emissions needed to keep the Earth’s temperature below 1.5 or 2 degrees. The problem is that 99% of the deadlines set by parliament in the laws adopted were not met and almost nothing was done.”

However, according to the ministry, the government’s actions were “guided by the principles expressed” in the basic law, with greater emphasis on energy efficiency and strengthening public management services to “develop training strategies at the regional and local level.”

In addition, the ministry “awaits the creation by Parliament of the Climate Action Council” to “present there the carbon budgets already drawn up by the Portuguese Environment Agency and approved by the supervisory authority.”