The 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climat Change, published in 2014, points out that the scientific evidence relating to the influence of human activity on the climate system is stronger than ever and that the global warming of the climate system is unequivocal. It is, therefore, crucial to monitor and verify the level of emissions and sequestration of greenhouse gases (GHG) of human origin in all sectors of the economy according to international guidelines.
The national GHG emissions inventory allows monitoring and verification of national compliance with the targets undertaken by countries, and is, therefore, a key element of the policy framework to tackle climate change. All emissions and sequestration of human origin are counted and include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). Also included are indirect GHGs such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs).
The National System for the Estimation of Emissions by Sources and Removals by Sinks of Air Pollutants (SNIERPA) was created to ensure the elaboration of the national inventory. In 2015, the SNIERPA was restructured and updated. Every year the National Inventory is subject to revision by teams of international experts, as part of both the European Union (EU) and of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) review processes.
As part of its strategy to reduce GHG emissions and in order to ensure compliance with international commitments, the EU has created the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). It is the first intra-EU market instrument for the regulation of GHG emissions. The EU-ETS has been in force since January 1st, 2005, having already taken place two compliance periods, 2005-2007 and 2008-2012 (which coincided with the first compliance period of the Kyoto Protocol - KP). Phase 3, 2013-2020, which coincides with the second compliance period of the KP, is currently underway.
The EU-ETS includes installations from a wide range of sectors, from energy to industrial, including refineries, metals, cement, chemicals, ceramics, glass, pulp, paper, agroforestry or agro-food. Since 2010 aviation is also included.
At the European level, under the climate-energy package for 2020, sectors covered by the ETS, including aviation, must reduce their emissions by 21% in 2020 compared to 2005 levels. On the other hand, at European level, non-ETS sectors are expected to reduce emissions by 10% in comparison with 2005 levels. The land use, land use change and forestry sector (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry - LULUCF) is not considered for this purpose.
The Effort Sharing Decision (Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009) covers sectors outside the ETS and divides the overall European target into individual targets by Member State. In this context, Portugal should limit, between 2013 and 2020, the increase of GHG emissions from non-ETS sectors to 1% in relation to 2005. In order to ensure compliance with the established targets, the European Commission has also set the annual limits the Member States must comply with (in the form of Annual Emissions Allocations - AEAs) from 2013 to 2020.
In 2015 the Council of Ministers Resolution n.º 56/2015, of July 30, established the main national policy instruments in the areas of mitigation and adaptation to climate change - the National Program for Climate Change (PNAC 2020/2030) and the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (ENAAC 2020).
The PNAC 2020/2030 focuses on mitigation and encompasses all sectors of the economy. It identifies emission reduction objectives aligned with the cost-effective potential of emission reduction in order to ensure Portugal remains on a low carbon trajectory. The sectoral targets set by the PNAC 2020/2030 do not yet include the contribution of LULUCF as it is still under examination, taking into account the rules agreed upon internationally and at EU level for the sector. Given that the sector is expected to remain a net sink in the 2030 horizon, which means that the balance between carbon sequestration and emissions is positive, the national reduction targets for 2020 and 2030 will have to be adjusted to reflect the contribution of the sector.
In the context of the PNAC 2020/2030, climate change mitigation policies should continue to focus on promoting the transition to a competitive, low-carbon economy in the medium to long-term.
The Paris agreement, adopted in 2015, set long-term goals for restraining the global average temperature rise to a maximum of 2ºC, with the commitment of the international community to continue its efforts to ensure that this increase does not exceed 1.5ºC, values that science defines as maximum to ensure life on the planet as we know it, without disruptive changes.
It has thus established a comprehensive framework of understanding, conducive to the development of public policies at regional, national or subnational levels that promote the conditions for the emergence of low carbon societies and economies, based on standards of resource efficiency and collaborative actions that promote an effective integration of climate change challenges - both in terms of reducing emissions and of improving resilience to the effects of climate change - across all strands of our societies.
It was in this context that Portugal assumed, in 2016, the objective of carbon neutrality by the end of the first half of this century, thus outlining a clear vision regarding the decarbonisation of the national economy.
Since October 2017, work has been under way on the development of the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality 2050 (RNC), which objective will be to identify and analyse the implications associated with cost-effective trajectories for the pursuit of the national objective of neutrality of GHG emissions established for 2050 and to identify the main associated decarbonisation vectors.
The European Commission presented in November 2016 a package of legislative and non-legislative proposals entitled "Clean Energy for All Europeans" (also known as the "Clean Energy for All Europeans" Package), consisting of 8 legislative proposals and 3 non-legislative texts.
The legislative proposals for the “Clean Energy” program cover energy efficiency, renewable energy, the electricity market, security of supply and the governance of the Energy and Climate Action Union.
The proposal for a Regulation on the Governance of the Energy and Climate Action Union, which objective is to ensure political coherence between the climate and energy areas in achieving the targets by 2030 and beyond, is of particular relevance in terms of climate policy. This Regulation provides for the development by the Member States of a National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC), with a long-term perspective, 2030-2050, covering five dimensions, of which the decarbonisation dimension stands out.
This fact sheet concerns mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores and shall be updated on an annual basis.
