Yes, the Portuguese Parliament approved the Paris Agreement in September 30, 2016 (Resolution of the Parliament no. 197-A/2016). Portugal INDC was submitted together with the European Union INDC (at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, when compared to 1990's levels).

The key Portuguese policy instruments are:

• Recovery and Resilience Plan of Portugal, approved by the Government and submitted to the European Commission on 22 April 2021;
• National Plan for Hydrogen, approved by was approved Council of Ministers Resolution no. 63/2020, of 14 August;
• National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 (PNEC 2030), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 53/2020, of 10 July;
• Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality 2050, approved by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 107/2019, of 1 July;
• Program for Climate Change Adaptation, approved by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 130/2019, of 2 August;
• National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (ENAAC 2020), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 56/2015, of 30 July.

Portugal has established a trajectory of emissions reductions of -45% to -55% by 2030, -65% to -75% by 2040 and -85% to -90% by 2050, compared to 2005, offsetting the remaining emissions through a carbon sink provided by land use and forests.

No, but the Government has manifested its intention to stop using coal to generate electricity until 2030. Currently, there are two power plants in Portugal that use coal to generate electricity and both are expected to stop production in 2021.

Portugal has no nuclear power plant and only a few natural gas power plants.

Climate change has been mainly tackled by EU legislations and Resolutions of the Council of Ministers, which establish targets and strategies that should allow the fulfillment of such targets. Recently, Portugal has approved the Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality 2050 (Council of Ministers Resolution no. 107/2019, July 1, 2019) and PNEC 2030 (Council of Ministers Resolution no. 53/2020, of 10 July). Law no. 19/2014, of 14 April, approving the Basis of Environmental Policy, the Recovery and Resilience Plan of Portugal and the National Plan for Hydrogen (Council of Ministers Resolution no. 63/2020, of 14 August) also refer to fighting climate change as an element of the national environmental and climate action policy.

Yes. Portugal participates in the EU Emissions Trading System.

In Portugal, the State Budget for 2021 approved a CO2 tax on sea and air travel, which will be charged as of 1 July 2021.

Additionally, there are several taxes which consider CO2 emissions as one of the taxable bases: (i) the Unique Tax on Circulation (Imposto Único de Circulação) includes, as one of its taxable factors, the CO2 emissions generated by passenger vehicles; and (ii) the tax on petroleum products which taxes petroleum products and other hydrocarbons and includes a specific charge on CO2 emissions.

Decree-Law no. 60/2012, of 14 March transposed Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 23 April 2009, on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, into the national legal framework.

There are no specific subsidies for carbon capture and storage, but funds may be granted to support these projects (for instance by the Environmental Fund).

Feed-in tariffs may be granted to the following (new) renewable energy generation projects:

1. Power plants with an installed capacity lower than 1 MW;
2. Overpowering of wind farms and hybrid power plants;
3. Power plants that are granted rights in the context of public tenders that establish this type of remuneration scheme;
4. Renewable cogeneration with an installed capacity lower than 20 MW;
5. Some biomass power plants, depending on when the right to install the plants were granted.

In the past, all renewable energy projects (with the exception of hydroelectric power plants with an installed capacity above 10 MVA) would benefit from a feed-in tariff.

The National Plan for Energy Efficiency approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 20/2013, of 10 April ("PNAEE" or "2013 PNAEE") established the following measures (approved by the 2008 PNAEE) to improve energy efficiency in buildings: replacement of inefficient light bulbs; acquisition of efficient appliances; replacement of windows; improvement of insulation; and promotion of microgeneration of electricity through renewable resources (subsidized by feed-in tariffs) and solar heating of sanitary waters.

Additionally, Decree-Law no. 118/2013, of 20 August, on the energy performance of buildings, has established rules on the efficiency of buildings dedicated to commerce and services buildings, as well as housing. One of the most visible measures is the need to assess the property's energy efficiency level prior to some transactions.

PNEC 2030, which revoked the 2013 PNAEE, has set the goal of reducing 35% of primary energy consumption until 2030 mentions that an increase in the thermal comfort of houses is expected, both with regard to heating as well as cooling and that there is a trend towards the electrification of the sector, where electricity is already the main energy used, solar thermal for heating water and heat pumps for heating spaces. Natural gas and biomass shall continue as an option in housing at least until 2020-2040.

According to PNEC, the transport sector will undergo far-reaching changes in the next two decades and will see substantial decarbonization, as traditional fossil fuels are being gradually replaced by electricity, biofuels and H2. In relation to the promotion of renewable energy sources in transport, the following lines of action are planned for sustainable mobility:

• Promote energy transition in the transport sector on a cost-effective basis, focusing on electrification, advanced biofuels and hydrogen;
• Promote and support electric mobility;
• Reinforce the capacity of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure on all levels (buildings, services, public roads, service stations, etc.);
• Reinforce the alternative fuel supply infrastructure at national ports and on the main road networks;
• Promote goods transport by rail and sea;
• Stimulate R&D&I in transport systems.

Additionally, tax benefits have been approved to promote the acquisition of electric vehicles and the Environmental Fund grants funds that help individuals as well as legal persons to acquire such vehicles.

Fleets owned by companies that are not small and medium-sized enterprises are subject to energy audits.

PNEC 2030 acknowledges that the decarbonization of the industry sector will happen at a slower pace. Nevertheless, it is expected to be highly influenced by robotization and digitalization and will likely use more electricity, in particular, electricity generated by renewable sources, such as biomass and thermal solar, and focus on circular economy.

According to PNEC, changes are being seen in effluent treatment systems. The expansion of biological agriculture, conservation and precision agriculture will allow emissions to be reduced from animal effluents and fertilizers. Carbon will also be captured as a result of increases in organic matter content in soils. More efficient agricultural practices in the regenerative use of resources are expected to impact directly on the retention of carbon and consumption of energy (e.g. with regard to irrigation) and the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers shall be reduced.

As part of plans to reinforce renewable energies and reduce the country’s energy dependency, the following lines of action are planned (and have been identified by the Portuguese Government in PNEC) to promote the generation of electricity and heat and/or cold from renewable energies:

• Promote the decarbonization of the electricity production system, including the closure of coal-fired power plants by 2030
• Accelerate the production of energy from renewable energy sources, with a greater focus on solar
• Promote the use of renewable systems in heating and cooling
• Stimulate investment in the national production of advanced biofuels through the use of waste and endogenous resources
• Promote electrification in all sectors of the economy
• Stimulate the acquisition and use of district heating from renewable energy sources
• Implement mechanisms promoting and simplifying investment, and review of the tariff model
• Create a favorable regulatory environment for participation by new market players, including local energy communities
• Optimize, simplify and revise the legal and regulatory framework for licensing
• Implement instruments for the sharing of costs associated with capacity reinforcement mechanisms
• Foster investment in energy transition and introduce innovative mechanisms
• Stimulate R&D&I, more specifically with regard to storage, low-carbon technologies, hydrogen and other 100% renewable fuels.

We are not aware of any widespread measures taken by Portuguese financial institutions aimed at reducing GHC emissions of their customers.

There are no prominent national climate change litigation cases in Portugal. The country has, however, been on the receiving end of some international litigation proceedings. Portugal was one of the European Member States targeted by the People's Climate Case whereby action was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union claiming the livelihood of the claimant had been compromised by climate change. The claim was rendered inadmissible inter alia on procedural grounds and lack of standing. The claimants have since then appealed but the Court of Justice of the European Union has dismissed the case.

Furthermore, there are also news reports of a potential claim before the European Court of Human Rights against 33 States (Portugal being one of them) for failure to properly address climate change. In this case, the claimants are several children from the Leiria Region in Portugal who were affected by severe forest fires in 2017.

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