2023 was the second warmest in the last 93 years, a year classified as extremely hot and dry. In the socio-economic context, there was the biggest population increase since the beginning of the 21st century (+123,105 inhabitants), in a year in which GDP increased by 2.5%, a slowdown compared to the previous year with an impact on domestic demand and net external demand which, although making a positive contribution, remained below the levels achieved in 2022.

In this context, there was a more efficient use of materials extracted from the environment (productivity in the use of materials increased by 16.8%) and positive variations in the selective collection of urban waste (+1.4%) and in the recovery of sectoral waste (+5.4%).

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 6.3% compared to 2022, due to the emissions reduction from the energy sector (-9.1%) and from the industrial sector (-3.3%). This result is in line with the 24.3% growth in electricity production from renewable sources (75.8% of the total) and the reduction in industrial production (industrial production index fell by 3.1% compared to 2022).

The number of rural fires occurrences in 2023 was the second lowest of the last decade in mainland Portugal (7,523 occurrences), as well as the second lowest area burned (34.5 thousand hectares). However, 63.6% of this area (23.8% of incidents) occurred in August, which was the fifth hottest August of the last 93 years.

Investment by industry companies in environmental domains grew by 4.5%, with companies investing the most in Air Quality and Climate Protection (33.8% of total investment).

The value of taxes with environmental relevance, 5.4 billion euros, increased by 15.7%, reflecting the 16.0% increase in revenue from the tax on oil products, which maintained its relative importance in total taxes with environmental relevance (60.2%).

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