Portugal is performing positively in the fight against climate change, according to the German non-governmental environmental association GermanWatch and Climate Action Network Europe, which placed the country third in their Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).
Portugal was only bested by Denmark and the UK, respectively, in an index which includes 58 of the most industrialised countries in the world.
The first three spots, however, were not attributed to any country because the index authors believe none of the countries are āworthyā of the podium in terms of climate protection, meaning technically speaking that Portugal came in sixth place.
Increasing political and social pressure on countries that have āforgottenā their duties in terms of climate change is the objective of the index, organisers say.
Quercus, national environmental association which collaborated with GermanWatch and CAN Europe in obtaining data about Portugal, said that the country came in third due to a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and its investments in renewable energy sources throughout the last years.
But other countries that have needed financial adjustment plans, such as Ireland and Greece, did not perform so well.
Quercus said that Greece abandoned all policies related to climate change, while Ireland also dropped three spots in the ranking.
And while Portugal continues to show positive results, Quercus believes that we may slow down due to the āgovernmentās current policies which have stalled beneficial investments, especially in sectors such as renewable energy sourcesā.
