Portugal records four straight years of growth with falling greenhouse gas emissions
25 October 2026
Statistics Portugal (INE) reports that for the first time since the start of its statistical series in 1995, Portugal recorded four consecutive years of economic growth accompanied by a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
INE describes this as a continued decoupling between economic activity and greenhouse gas emissions.
Emissions, expressed as Global Warming Potential, fell by 2.8 per cent in 2024 to 52.0 million tons of CO2 equivalent, the lowest value in the series.
Gross Domestic Product at market prices increased by 2.7 per cent in the same year.
Together these produced a 5.4 per cent fall in the carbon intensity of the Portuguese economy, also the lowest in the series.
In plain words
CO2 equivalent Carbon dioxide equivalent — A common unit that converts every greenhouse gas into the amount of carbon dioxide with the same warming effect.
Carbon intensity — The emissions produced for each unit of economic output.
Decoupling — When an economy keeps growing while its emissions fall, so the two no longer move together.