The year 2023 broke all temperature records to date. According to
report released by the European Climate Change Office - Copernicus, the year 2023 was the first in which temperatures were higher than at any time in the last 100,000 years.
If we want to mitigate climate risk, we urgently need to decarbonize our economy. The fact that we are making great strides towards the threshold defined in the
Paris Agreement, reinforces the importance of speeding up the energy transition.
Voluntary carbon market in Portugal
On January 5, 2024, the government published in
Diário da República, the diploma establishing the Voluntary Carbon Market in Portugal. The aim is to promote the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by creating a market where companies and other entities can purchase carbon credits generated by emission reduction or carbon sequestration projects.
In other words, they are permits paid for by companies in order to offset the polluting emissions they emit themselves.
In parallel, companies must register projects aimed at reducing GHG emissions.
Measure the footprint and define the strategy
Companies must measure their carbon footprint and implement decarbonization roadmaps by identifying and implementing measures to reduce emissions. To compensate for the emissions they are unable to reduce, they can purchase carbon credits on a voluntary basis. Each carbon credit corresponds to one ton of CO2.
By purchasing permits, companies are financing carbon capture or mitigation projects that cancel out the harmful effect of the emissions they are responsible for.
O princípio do poluidor-pagador
Embora ainda muito no início, o mercado funciona com o princípio do poluidor-pagador, através do preço do carbono as soluções mais poluidoras tornam-se mais caras e as soluções que utilizam
clean energy become more accessible, promoting sustainable development and the transition to a greener economy.
