Porto, Portugal reduces greenhouse gas emissions
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Porto, a city in Portugal, lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent over four years through the Porto Climate Pact.
In 2024, the city released approximately 771,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent, or 2.8 tons per resident. This reduction, measured against a 2019 baseline, puts Porto on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, a goal more ambitious than the European Union’s 2050 target.
Catarina Araújo, Vice President of the Porto City Council, stated that these positive results have directly improved the lives of residents. She cited free and reliable public transportation, affordable energy, efficient water systems, and effective waste management as examples of the Pact’s impact. The city plans to accelerate progress by gaining more supporters for the Pact and continuing existing and new measures across different sectors.
The city’s strategy focuses on expanding the metro and metrobus networks, electrifying public transportation fleets, encouraging walking and cycling, and installing solar energy in residential areas. Additional initiatives include improving energy efficiency in municipal buildings, replacing streetlights with LED technology, expanding organic waste collection, and a project called “Porto Gravítico” which uses the city’s slopes to reduce energy consumption in water supply. These efforts target mobility and building energy use, which together account for roughly 91 percent of Porto’s emissions.
