According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), "For the first time since 1995, the year the statistical series began, Portugal recorded three consecutive years in which economic growth coincided with a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions".

According to the institute, in 2023, Portugal also recorded its lowest carbon intensity value since 1995, amid economic growth.

In 2023, Global Warming Potential (GWP) decreased 8.9% compared to the previous year, totalling 52.7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, "the lowest result in almost three decades."

This trend, the institute emphasised, demonstrates "a persistent decoupling" between economic growth and emissions.

The reduction occurred in a context of economic growth, with Gross Value Added (GVA) increasing 3.1%.

The combination of the reduction in GWP emissions (-8.9%) and the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (+3.1%) led to an 11.7% drop in the carbon intensity of the national economy, which reached "the lowest level recorded since 1995," the statisticians explained.

According to the INE, the reduction was "strongly influenced" by the energy sector, particularly due to the "significant increase" in renewable electricity production, which accounted for over 60% of the total.

"This growth was fuelled by favourable hydrological conditions. Also contributing to this reduction were the reduced dependence on natural gas-fired thermal plants, whose production fell by over 40%, and the residual effect of the closure of the Sines and Pego coal-fired plants, which was consolidated in 2022 and fully reflected in 2023," it added.