2022 was the hottest year in the last 92 years and preliminary estimates of greenhouse gas emissions point to a 1.2% increase compared to 2021. With the largest population increase since the beginning of the 21st century (+46,249 inhabitants) and in a context of economic growth (private consumption increased by 5.6%), there was a 10.5% reduction in domestic consumption of materials extracted from the environment and an improvement in efficiency in the management of sectoral and urban waste, with the ratios of quantities generated per unit of GDP decreasing by 2.0% and 6.4% respectively. 

In Portugal, rural fires affected an area of 110,2 thousand hectares in 2022, more than a fifth of which was in a Protected Area. It should be noted that around 90% of the Protected Area burned occurred in Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

The contribution of renewable energy sources to electricity production increased by 2.6 pp, reaching 61.0% of the total electricity produced in 2022.

Industry companies' investments in environmental terms grew by 48.1%, particularly in Protection of Ambient Air and Climate domain (+61.7%). 

The value of taxes with environmental relevance, 4.6 billion euros, fell by 7.5%, essentially reflecting the reduction in revenue from the tax on oil products as a result of the policy to mitigate the increase in fuel prices.

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