Portugal’s climate change aspirations rank second only to Sweden’s in the European ‘Off target: Ranking of EU countries' report.
Portugal is way ahead of its European cousins in the ranking of ambitions and actual measures to comply with the Paris agreement on climate change.
The vast majority of European Union member states, "are failing to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement, Portugal is among the few countries that have called for more ambitious energy and climate targets and policies, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” concludes the study presented by the European Network for Climate Action, ‘CAN-Europe.’
The study, "Off target: ranking of EU countries' ambition and progress in fighting climate change," assesses the role that member states are playing in setting goals and policies in the area of energy and climate and the progress that is being made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The work was published in Portugal by Zero, the Association of Sustainable Terrestrial Systems, and shows Sweden in top place with a score of 77%, Portugal with 66% and France at 65%. The association did not award a first place, so Portugal is third, but beaten only by Sweden.
Zero’s president, Francisco Ferreira, commented that this is a "very nice" result for Portugal, stating that the result, "reflects, above all, the effort that Portugal has been making both internally and in the negotiations at a European level.”
Among the positive aspects for Portugal are energy and climate issues, “with a number of commitments including the withdrawal of coal by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050," said Ferreira.
"Unfortunately, Portugal also has negative aspects, namely, exploring for oil and gas is undoubtedly seen, on a European scale, as a potential and relevant setback," added the environmentalist, with rare understatement.
Poland came in last, primarily because the country continues to use loads of coal and has "made it difficult for many of the negotiations on a European scale."