More than two years after the legal deadline, 108 of the 308 Portuguese municipalities had not yet approved the climate action plans. The Climate Action Council continues to operate and carbon budgets accumulate delays. “If even what is already laid down in the law is not fulfilled, we must start by demanding the minimum,” says Pedro Macedo, ambassador of the European Climate Pact.
On the eve of COP31, which begins on 9 November in Turkey, the civic initiative Climate Provider will launch a campaign that challenges the Portuguese to choose ten priority measures to combat the climate crisis and demand its implementation. The initiative is supported by the European Climate Pact, EcoMood Portugal, Live Tracks and MUBi. The proposals can be submitted by 31 December and the ten selected measures will be announced in March 2027 and later delivered to the sovereign bodies. In view of the delays in complying with the Climate Bases Act adopted in 2021, promoters want to lead policymakers to take a stand and admit to moving forward with a citizens' legislative initiative if the measures are not implemented.
“ We do not seek symbolic gestures or more of them, but simple measures to implement, with visible effects within a parliamentary term, which do not advance only because of lack of political will. The bar is low. Pedro Macedo, a researcher, climate activist and ambassador of the European Climate Pact, said, created the civic climate initiative.
The halt of the Climate Action Council, an independent body provided by the law to monitor climate policies, results from a lack of agreement between parties on its composition. The carbon budgets, which should set limits on greenhouse gas emissions, have been delayed in their implementation.
COP31, the United Nations climate change summit, takes place from 9 to 20 November in Antalya, Turkey. “At climate summits, global goals are negotiated, but it is in each country that they meet or fail. Portugal has since 2021 a Climate Bases Act that remains to be complied with in essential aspects. Before promising any more, we must guarantee the minimum”, notes Pedro Macedo.
Ten measures to require political decisions
By 31 December, any citizen or organization may submit proposals through the website provider. with/min. It is not necessary to have specialized technical knowledge, simply identifying the problem that is intended to solve and explaining the proposed measure. Each participant can submit as many proposals as he wishes, one per form.
Measures should be able to be implemented with instruments that the State already has, such as the law, budget or regulation, produce results within a legislature, apply at national level and do not exacerbate social inequalities. The proposals must also have ambitions to meet the climate crisis, without falling into unrealism, focusing on solutions already tested in other countries or benefiting from extended social support.
Among the examples indicated by the campaign are binding carbon budgets, with independent evaluation and consequences in the event of non-compliance; the implementation and supervision of climate action plans; free or symbolic public transport; a national agroecology programme; incentives for cooperative and sustainable housing; and a citizens' climate convention, like that held in France. These are examples of possible measures, not already proposed for the final list.
In January and February 2027, the proposals will be reviewed by Pedro Macedo and later evaluated by independent climate scientists. If there are more eligible proposals than places available, an online vote will be organised to involve citizens in choosing the ten final measures.
The package will be presented publicly in March 2027, becoming open to the subscription of citizens and organizations. The ten measures will then be delivered to the Government, parliamentary groups, the Assembly of the Republic and the Presidency of the Republic. The promoters want each of the ten measures to be discussed and voted on, leading the political leaders to take a concrete position on their implementation. If this does not happen, they admit to moving forward with a citizens' legislative initiative, seeking to bring the proposals to discussion and vote in the Assembly of the Republic. “If we don’t get anywhere, it will at least be shown that everything comes down to lack of political will,” adds Pedro Macedo.
Listen to who suffers most from the climate crisis
“ Above all, we want to hear who suffers most from the climate crisis and who is on the ground building alternatives. The solutions exist. Many have been tested in other countries and in our communities. They need to be passed on to the national scale”, says Pedro Macedo.
The disclosure will be made through the social networks of the Climate Provider and partner organisations, newsletters and the network of over 70 ambassadors of the European Climate Pact in Portugal. In addition to collecting online proposals, promoters intend to conduct surveys with participants in demonstrations and listen to communities particularly affected by the climate crisis. It is also planned to seek collaboration with initiatives such as EJMapping, a mapping project of environmental justice conflicts in Portugal, to bring proposals from those directly facing these problems to the campaign. These mobilization actions on the ground are still in preparation.
The initiative counts on Sabrina Fialho as a youth official. Investigator of the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon and Ambassador of the European Climate Pact, Sabrina will take the campaign to schools and involve children and young people through the Climate Debates, which she already promotes with families, teachers and mayors, seeking that the proposals of the younger ones be considered in the selection of the ten measures. The researcher herself has already presented a proposal to the campaign: to promote climate debates in schools, involving children, families and teachers.
“ Children are already suffering the consequences of climate change, but they are rarely heard by those who decide. Taking climate debate to schools, with kids and kids, is a simple way to turn concern into a capacity for action and participation. It is exactly the kind of minimum that could start tomorrow,” says Sabrina Fialho.
On the European Climate Pact
The European Climate Pact is an initiative of the European Union integrated into the European Ecological Pact, which promotes the participation of citizens and communities in climate action and the transition to a sustainable economy.
About the Climate Provider
The Climate Provider is a civic initiative for climate action created by Pedro Macedo, a collaborator researcher at the CE3C (University of Lisbon), with more than 60 communities accompanied by action research processes. It promotes conversations and proposals that link civil society, local power and academia.
More information: https://provadordoclima.com/