Law No. 98/2021 Climate Framework Law.

This Climate Framework Law establishes the fundamental principles, objectives, rights, duties, governance structures, planning instruments, and financial mechanisms that underpin Portugal’s climate policy. Its overarching objective is to recognize the climate emergency and provide a comprehensive legal framework to guide the transition towards a climate-neutral, sustainable, and resilient society. The law promotes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the expansion of renewable energy, the strengthening of carbon sinks, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, climate justice, energy efficiency, sustainable finance, and adaptation to climate change. It also recognizes the right to climate balance, establishes the duties of public authorities, private entities, and citizens in climate action, and promotes transparency, public participation, scientific knowledge, and accountability in climate governance. The law creates an integrated governance system for climate action by establishing national mitigation and adaptation targets, including the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, as well as sectoral and territorial planning instruments, carbon budgets, climate adaptation strategies, and monitoring mechanisms. It creates the Council for Climate Action as an independent advisory body, requires regional and municipal climate action plans, and integrates climate considerations into legislation, budgeting, taxation, finance, public investment, security, public health, and international relations. The framework further promotes sustainable financing, green taxation, the gradual elimination of fossil-fuel subsidies, climate-risk disclosure, and the incorporation of climate resilience into public policies, thereby providing a long-term legal foundation for climate mitigation, adaptation, environmental protection, and sustainable economic development in Portugal.