In 2024, Portugal presented an environmental overall picture undergoing transformation, marked by relevant improvements alongside persistent challenges, within a context of economic growth. The resident population increased again by 1.0% compared with 2023 – the second highest increase of the XXI century – in parallel with economic expansion, with domestic demand growing by 2.9%. Significant developments were observed in the energy transition scenario, with electricity generated from renewable sources reaching a record high of 86.2%, contributing to a reduction in energy dependency to 64.3% and to a 4.4% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 2023.

The year was, however, very hot and dry, ranking as the third warmest of the past decade, while air quality was classified predominantly as good (46.0% of days). Although the number of rural fire occurrences was the lowest of the last decade, the burned area increased, reaching the fourth highest level over this period.

Regarding resource use, Domestic Material Consumption decreased by 5.0%, while sectoral waste generation increased by 4.9%, and municipal waste collection increased by 3.4%, compared with 2023. The rate of preparation for reuse and recycling of municipal waste reached 37%, still far from the 55% target set for 2025.

The share of industrial enterprises with environmental management and protection activities increased (+1.2 pp); however, environmental investment declined by 11%, accompanied by a comparable increase in operational costs. Environmentally related taxes amounted to €5.9 billion, representing an increase of 8.7% compared with 2023.

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