The ENAAC2030 is open for public consultation, and it guides the national response to the impacts of climate change and strengthens the capacity to adapt to extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, fires, and floods, according to a statement from the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The strategy aims to adapt all sectors of society to the effects of climate change and needs to be reviewed "because the impacts in recent years have been much greater than they used to be," the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, told the Lusa news agency.

Impacts on the Environment and Energy, such as coastal erosion, effects on rivers, water scarcity, and the prevention of forest fires, were listed by the minister, adding that there are also impacts in other areas, such as health, with the emergence of new diseases.

"The dengue mosquito has appeared on the mainland," she exemplified, explaining that it is necessary to adapt policies to climate change, whether in terms of high temperatures or working conditions.

Maria da Graça Carvalho told Lusa that the Government was not waiting for the new framework to proceed with what needed to be done and recalled that works have already begun on the coastline, with an investment of around 140 million euros from the Sustainable Operational Programme, with actions in places such as Esposende, Ferragudo, Figueira da Foz, Costa da Caparica and Vale do Garrão.

In the area of ​flood prevention, the Portuguese Environment Agency was allocated 12.3 million euros to modernise the prevention system, which provides alerts and indicates the region’s most susceptible to floods, said Maria da Graça Carvalho.

She also added that works to prevent the effects of floods, for which 60 million euros were included in the renegotiation of the Sustainable Operational Programme, are underway. Works are being carried out in Lisbon, Algés, Oeiras and Faro.

“We didn’t wait for the strategy to move forward,” the minister reaffirmed, adding that the ENAAC2030 organises policies, lists critical areas and needs, and promotes monitoring and dialogue between sectors of public administration affected by climate change.

The objective of ENAAC 2030 is “to equip the country with the necessary instruments and knowledge to protect people, ecosystems and the economy, in a context of increasingly frequent, intense and unpredictable climate risks,” according to the government statement.

The draft strategy is open for public consultation through the Participa.pt portal, and the Ministry invites citizens, institutions, and companies to contribute.