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Environment

Environmental news, climate policy, and sustainability in Portugal.

A single white three-bladed wind turbine rising above a canopy of umbrella pines and eucalyptus against a deep blue sky, in the hills of the Algarve interior.

Portugal Put Up 199 Megawatts of Onshore Wind in Six Months, Enough for a Place in Europe's Top Ten

WindEurope's autumn report puts Europe on course for a record year at 8.8 gigawatts in the first half, up 30 percent. Portugal should reach about 250 megawatts for the full year and add 2.1 gigawatts by 2030, the twelfth largest jump in the EU.

The Portugal Brief 01 Sep 2026

The river Zezere running fast over mossy granite boulders in its glacial valley below the Serra da Estrela, near Manteigas in central Portugal.

Five Councils That Reported Their Storm Damage Late Are Written Into Portugal's 80 Million Euro River and Coast Recovery Fund

Resolução do Conselho de Ministros 176/2026, gazetted on Monday and in force from Tuesday, adds Fronteira, Manteigas, Marvão, Nelas and Santa Comba Dão to the Territórios Resilientes annex and lifts the ceiling by 3,493,000 euros to 80,088,647 euros.

The Portugal Brief 31 Aug 2026

An aerial view of Costa da Caparica, the town's white blocks and red roofs behind a wide sand beach with rock groynes, and Lisbon and the 25 de Abril bridge on the far horizon.

Almada Lifts Its Water Alert Tonight After Fifty-Four Days of Overnight Cut-Offs on the Caparica Coast

The alert was declared on 8 July and extended to 31 August. Reservoirs are back above 70 percent, at 72 percent on Sunday. The overnight supply cuts, the garden-watering ban and the closure of beach showers all lapse tonight.

The Portugal Brief 31 Aug 2026

Autumn woodland in the Peneda-Geres National Park, one of the pilot areas named in Portugal's nature restoration plan

Portugal Is Third in the EU to Deliver a Nature Restoration Plan, and the Government's Own Statement Cannot Decide Whether It Holds 375 Measures or 386

Portugal filed its draft nature restoration plan with the European Commission on 28 August, three days before the Article 16 deadline and third of twenty-seven member states. The government's own statement counts the measures twice, at 375 and at 386.

The Portugal Brief 31 Aug 2026

Praia de Albarquel in Setúbal, one of the five contested beaches, with thatched sun umbrellas, bathers, yachts moored in the Sado estuary and the Arrábida hills beyond.

Hundreds Turned Setúbal's Main Square Into a Beach on Saturday, Because a Private Estate Wants a Court to Declare Five Real Ones Its Own

Sociedade Palácio da Comenda has been suing since July 2025 to have Rasca, Comenda, Rainha, Maria Esguelha and Albarquel declared private. Lei 54/2005 makes it prove ownership before 31 December 1864, and the public right of passage survives even if it wins.

The Portugal Brief 30 Aug 2026

The concrete arch of the Alto Lindoso dam and its reservoir seen from a hillside across a green granite valley in northern Portugal, under a blue sky.

Portugal Puts Its Electricity Storage Plan Out for 20 Days of Public Consultation, Targeting 3.9 Gigawatts of Pumped Hydro and 3 Gigawatts of Batteries by 2030

The National Storage Strategy is now on Participa.pt and anyone can file a comment. It wants pumping at 3.9 GW and batteries at 3 GW by 2030, rising to 5.26 and 4.5 by 2040. The 2030 pumping number rests on one project, and Brussels still has to approve that half.

The Portugal Brief 29 Aug 2026

An aerial view of the curved concrete Bravura dam and its reservoir among wooded Algarve hills near Lagos, with a pale drawdown ring along the far bank.

A 25 Million Euro Notice for Storm-Damaged Irrigation Opens on Tuesday, Taking the Repair Bill to 60 Million

The new call joins 35 million already approved, all of it from the state budget rather than European funds. Announced at the Bravura dam, where a 15 million euro fix is expected to save 19 million cubic metres of water a year.

The Portugal Brief 29 Aug 2026

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