Climate change mitigation - National Responses (Portugal)

At the beginning of 2008, a new set of policies and measures was added to the National Climate Change Programme (PNAC 2006) through Cabinet Resolution No. 1/2008 (RCM 1/2008) in order to further strengthen Portugal’s commitments to reducing emissions in key sectors such as energy (supply and demand) and transport.

RCM 1/2008 also approved the ETS National Allocation Plan for the period 2008-2012 (PNALE II) and provided an update on GHG allocations by sector for each of the activities established in Annex I of Directive 2003/87/EC: electricity-generation, refineries, co-generation, cement and lime, ceramics, glass, pulp and paper, ferrous metal and combustion installations. The total amount awarded was capped at 34.81 Mt CO₂/year, which was 9 % below the previous period. Of the total amount, 30.50 Mt CO₂/year represents existing installations listed in PNALE II and the remainder (4.30 Mt CO₂/year) is set aside as a reserve for new entrants.

The Portuguese Carbon Fund has been created to address participation in the Kyoto mechanisms and ensure compliance with Kyoto. According to current investment planning, the final Kyoto deficit to be offset by the Portuguese Carbon Fund will be 2.88 Mt CO₂e/year.

In 2008, the energy production and transformation and the transport sectors were responsible for almost half of gasoline engine emissions (GEE) (49 %). The transport sector is also the most costly in terms of total energy use (36 %). This has effects on both carbon and energy intensity which, although currently higher, have been showing signs of convergence with EU-15 levels since 2005. National policies are thus primarily concerned with energy efficiency and diversification in these sectors, although the approach does not exclude other sectors, such as industry and households.

The National Allocation Plans have established several measures and policies with a view to achieving the following national goals:

Energy Sector

·         45 % of electricity production based on renewable energy sources by 2010 and 60 % by 2020 (31 % by 2008)

·         31 % share of renewable energy sources of the total energy consumption by 2020 (17 % in 2008)

·         10 % decrease in total energy consumption by 2015 and 20 % by 2020 compared to 1990 levels (152 % in 2008)

·         5 100 MW of power provided by wind energy installations by 2012 (5 625 MW 2008)

·         5 575 MW of power provided by hydro energy installations by 2010 and 8 600 MW by 2020 (4 810 MW in 2008)

·         Construction of biomass power plants with 250 MW capacity to replace 5-10 % of the coal used in thermoelectric power plants.

Transport Sector

·         “Renew your Car” programme, aiming to upgrade transport emissions by eliminating end-of-life vehicles

·         Urban Mobility programme, aiming to move users from individual to public transport through modal transfers and mobility plans to induce behavioural change

·         Increasing the share of bio fuels to 10 %.

Finally, there are plans to introduce a National Plan for Energy Efficiency to accompany these measures, with the aim of achieving a 20 % increase in energy efficiency by 2020.

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