Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) announced earlier that the country broke the record for energy production from renewable sources in 2023, and now the environmental association Zero highlights in a statement that in 2023 three records were broken in the area of energy: more production of renewable energy, more days in a row with only renewable energy and the lowest emissions ever.

Following REN's announcement that renewable production supplied 61% of electricity consumption in Portugal last year, the highest figure ever, Zero estimated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main gas responsible for global warming.

“The accounts reveal a very significant record, in the order of 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, the lowest value since at least 1990, the first year in which Portugal reported greenhouse gas emissions.”

In 2022, CO2 emissions had been 6.1 million tons.

In addition to the two records, Zero specifies another: for six consecutive days, between October 31st and November 6th, the country's consumption was ensured by exclusively renewable electricity.

“The emissions now come from the operation of the four natural gas combined cycle plants in Lares, Pego, Ribatejo and Tapada do Outeiro, whose production decrease between 2022 and 2023 was 43 percent”, explains the environmentalists.

Zero thus concludes that the energy sector is no longer mainly responsible for emissions, passing the podium to road transport as the main responsible for CO2 emissions in Portugal.