While this target has been in the works for a while, the center-right government has accelerated its planning due to the Iran conflict, which has threatened the global supply of fossil fuels and driven up prices.
“We were planning it, but Iran gave us the urgency of doing it,” she said.
Lisbon’s proposal will be presented in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the European Commission intends to unveil a bloc-wide electrification target, similarly designed to cut fossil fuel reliance, in June.
Graça Carvalho welcomed the EU executive’s plans but urged Brussels not to ignore the green fuels needed to fully decarbonize parts of industry or the transport sector.
“We want to invest a lot in renewable molecules — biodiesel, hydrogen, biomethane, and also sustainable aviation fuels,” she said. That’s why Portugal is going ahead with a fossil fuel reduction target instead of an electrification goal, she added.
Plus, she said, “we have decided on a target that, because of this crisis, is better understood by society — to get rid of this dependency.”