Zero Association advocates for climate action plans

The environmental association Zero defended this Wednesday the importance of municipal and regional climate action plans in preventing and reducing fires, and warned of delays in submitting the documents.

"Zero understands that municipal and regional climate action plans are part of the response to heat waves and rural fires — but it is important to develop them," the association said in a statement released Wednesday.

Recalling the recent heat waves and fires, which caused one of the largest burned areas on the continent, Zero also recalled in the document that each region and each municipality must create Municipal Climate Action Plans (PMAC) and Regional Climate Action Plans (PRAC).

These plans can play “a fundamental role in preventing and reducing the consequences of rural fires and mitigating the effects of heat waves on communities,” and, according to the Climate Framework Law, should all have been submitted by February 1, 2024. So far, “less than half have been.”

However, the association warns, the lack of concrete measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change “aggravates the vulnerability of territories and populations ” to more frequent heat waves and fires.

Zero explains that these plans can guide land use and prevent urban expansion in areas more vulnerable to fire, or promote the adaptation of buildings to climate extremes and the sustainable management of forests and land use. They can also support the selection of forest species that are more resistant to fire and drought.

PRACs and PMACs can also anticipate specific preventive measures to protect populations and infrastructure from more extreme climate scenarios , support efficient water management, or invest in nature-based solutions and the monitoring and use of early warning systems.

In Zero's view, the Regional Coordination Commissions (CCDR) have an increased responsibility, given that they have the technical resources to prepare the plans, and the central government "must assume, with much greater determination, the responsibility of guaranteeing local authorities and regional services the financial resources and technical support necessary for climate planning to move from paper to concrete action."

In the statement, Zero also congratulates the “historic decision” of the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Braga in recently granting an action filed by a citizen of Valença, condemning the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission for its failure to prepare its Regional Climate Action Plan, in violation of the legal deadline provided for in the Climate Framework Law.

This precedent "shows that the justice system is attentive and refuses to act inactively, with the courts available to act in defense of the climate," warns Zero, which calls on the CCDRs and municipalities to comply with the law, "making the fight against climate change a cross-cutting priority."