The Government aims to have within four months a solution to the water shortage on the southern bank of the Tagus, stemming from Castelo de Bode and/or the Tagus River, the environment minister said today.
Maria da Graça Carvalho, speaking at a hearing of the Environment Committee of the Assembly of the Republic, said that the technical solution will be complementary to the use of groundwater and added that they have been tasked, by order published today, to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the ÁdP Group (Águas de Portugal) to present a project within a 120-day deadline.
In a briefing before the deputies, the minister reviewed what has been done across the various areas of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, said that the Aviation Decarbonization Roadmap (Ronda) will be presented, and in a document she presented she notes that Portugal will participate in the next climate summit, COP31 (in Turauia), with a national pavilion.
The minister also noted that the Social Climate Plan mobilizes 1.6 billion euros through 2032 and that it prioritizes energy efficiency in housing and sustainable mobility.
In the energy transition at issue is, according to the Government, the creation of the Renewable Energy Acceptance Plan, greater participation by municipalities in the benefits of renewable energy, the approval (and first auction) of the Energy Storage Strategy.
The low-voltage concessions model will also be defined, by the end of the year, the national strategy for geological resources will be launched, and the program to support the energy resilience of critical infrastructures.
In addition to the rehabilitation of several coastal fronts, the minister highlighted the launch of a call for restoration interventions in all the major parks (Peneda-Gerês will be the first) and also a restoration project for the montado in Alentejo.
In nature conservation, Maria da Graça Carvalho also highlighted the official creation of the Dom Carlos marine reserve, a new cycle of action in the conservation of the Iberian lynx, and the Steppe Birds Recovery Program, as well as new pilot projects for urban ecosystem restoration (Celorico da Beira, Batalha, and Mangualde).
According to the minister, 61 management plans for Special Conservation Zones (ZEC) are nearly ready, with only three remaining. And in the waste sector she said that next month the APA will launch a tender to evaluate the location in the Algarve for a waste valorization unit.
The Government approved on Tuesday, by order, an action plan for the invasive alga Rugulopteryx okamurae, the minister also said.
