CO2

‘World’s 1.5C climate target ‘deader than a doornail’ – the Guardian

The internationally 2015 Paris agreement to keep the world’s temperature below 1.5C in 2050 will not be achieved – with 2024 being the year above this threshold – despite the current gathering of world’s decision-makers at the United Nations COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbajan.   

In 2030, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the EU is expected to reach 49% – according to the EEA (European Environment Agency) – still far from its target of 55%. However, even this goal would be insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement and shows that much more ambition is needed.

Although Portugal is trying its best – from 2005 to 2022 it reduced 34% of its emissions –  the country definitely doesn’t belong to the frontrunners in the EU (like Sweden) but is at the average of all EU countries in terms of emissions.

There are sectors that are being difficult to decarbonize. ‘Transport, Agriculture and Waste are still far from reaching the sectorial goals defined for 2030’, says the State of the Environment Report (REA) released by the Portuguese Environment Agency last month.  

With the exception of the railways, emissions from all other means of transport increased. In particular, the evolution of sectors such as aviation and the oil industry are cause of concern. The major emissions zones are all close to the sea, but two stand out, the Galp refinery in Sines and the Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon.

The international airport is the most polluting with 3.5 million tons and emissions continue to increase, with special thanks to private aviation.

Portugal is on the list of 20 countries with the most jet planes for the private market. The country is in 14th place, with an equivalent of 1.5 jets per 100,000 residents. Behind the USA (5.4/100,000) and Switzerland (3.7/100,000) but ahead of the UK (0.8/100,000) and Germany (0.7/100,000). The ‘golden visas’ definitely explain its ranking on the list.

Although Galp’s refinery in Sines recorded a decline last year, it will still emit cerca 2.2 million tons this year. ‘Galp’s intention to review its decarbonization targets – due to the discovery of oil in Namibia – and the slower execution of renewable projects is very worrying, the environmental movement ZERO said in a statement.

The port of Sines appears in 3rd place with 1.2 million tons and an upward trend since 2021. Carnes Landeiro in Barcelos, the Ribatejo Thermoelectric Power Plant in Carregado and the Cimpor’s Cement factory in Souselas are in 4th, 5th and 6th place, respectively.

With a centre-right government in power since the beginning of this year, environmentalists fear the focus on technology and economy could undermine the climate transition. They are calling on the government to uphold the country’s 2045 goal for reaching carbon neutrality, rather than delaying it until 2050 as far-right groups are pushing for.  


Enjoy your week         Aproveite a semana               (pic Público/Sapo)

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Scapegoats

Crime by immigrants hasn’t increased. Crime against them has.

The idea that an increase in immigration brings more crime is a myth! This concludes the sociologist Catarina Reis Oliveira, who analyzed the data on crimes published by the police authorities and crossed them with the immigration figures.

In an analysis made at the request of the newspaper Público the result is clear: in municipalities with the highest absolute number of foreigners, crime has decreased. On the other hand, the ratio of crimes per number of residents is lower in the municipalities where the immigrant population has the most impact.  

Municipalities where the immigrant population has a significant impact on the resident population are Vila do Bispo (immigrants represent 44% of the total population), Odemira (42%), Lisbon (29%) and Porto (14%).

If there were a direct relationship between immigration and crime, it would be expected that the increase in foreigners would be directly reflected in an increase in crimes recorded. However, ‘nothing more wrong,’ concludes the researcher.

Odemira – where almost half of the population originates from South Asia to work in agriculture – has over the last decade a lower proportion of crimes than that verified for the whole country, also distancing itself from the proportion of crimes recorded by total residents in Lisbon and Porto, municipalities that have a much lower impact of foreign residents.

In Odemira, in ten years, the proportion of crimes per inhabitant hardly changed (from 3.2 crimes per 100 residents in 2011 to 3.4 in 2023), whereas immigration skyrocketed. The data are much lower than in Lisbon and Porto, where the ratio last year was, respectively 5.9 and 5.8 crimes per 100 inhabitants.

What this analysis reveals is that ‘alarmist discourse is not supported by numbers’. In municipalities where the immigrant population hasn’t increased, crime has grown. In contrast, in places like Odimira, where the weight of immigrants is much higher, ‘crime numbers remain stable, even below the national average’.

The researcher concludes that ‘this deconstruction of the myth is essential to combat prejudice and hate. What really worries is the effect of this fallacious discourse, which is fostering an increase in violence against this vulnerable population.’


Enjoy the week          Approveite a semana               (pic Público)




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