Aviation’s polluting emissions in Portugal have increased by 19% since 2019, today warned the environmental association Zero, noting that the expansion of airport capacity in Lisbon and Porto threatens a decarbonisation roadmap that remains to be adopted.
Quoting data from a study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, of which Zero is a member, Zero expressed “great concern” about jet fuel consumption, considering that it represents an increase of about one million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
“This situation is particularly worrying when taking into account that emissions from major road fuels rose 3.6% and those from power generation fell about 70%, and that in 2026 Portugal remains without a carbon budget for aviation and without the Aviation Decarbonisation Roadmap (RONDA) completed,” Zero said in a statement.
According to the association, while synthetic fuels are not available at the scale required, the growth in air traffic “could compromise a carbon budget for aviation that Portugal has not yet defined” and “should be developed quickly”, in order to establish how much the sector can cumulatively emit in a manner compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Aviation synthetic fuels (e-SAF), produced with renewable hydrogen and sustainable carbon, will be “essential to decarbonize flights that cannot be avoided, shifted to more efficient modes, or decarbonized by other solutions,” the environmental advocacy organization explained in the document.
Zero’s position is based on an analysis published today by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, which compares emission trajectories and expansion plans with carbon budgets compatible with the Paris Agreement for 20 major airports across 10 European countries.
“The fundamental conclusion is clear enough: the growth of air traffic cannot continue to be treated as independent from climate limits, especially at a time when synthetic fuels remain far from the scale required,” it stated.
The association thus considered that it is urgent for each country to define, “in a transparent and scientifically grounded manner,” the carbon budget available for aviation.
“RONDA must fill this gap, starting by defining a carbon budget for Portuguese aviation, with trajectory and milestones for 2030, 2035 and 2040 and references that allow evaluating the emissions associated with different airports,” Zero advanced.
