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Before imposing measures on individuals to increase the housing supply, like forcing them to rent out their vacant properties, the government should look inwards and set the example, Lisbon’s Mayor, Carlos Moedas (PSD), said at a conference about housing on Tuesday.

Speaking at the closing of the conference “More Housing – Protection, regulation or brake”, Lisbon’s mayor talked about the government’s plans to increase the supply of housing across the country.

In numerous studies, electric automobiles have been found to be beneficial for the environment, as they release fewer greenhouse gases and pollutants into the air. Electric vehicles have the potential to minimise transportation-related pollution while also mitigating global warming. 

Europe has managed to position itself as one of the global leaders against climate change. Over the last few years, the European Union has taken significant measures toward climate mitigation. However, if the world wants to avoid the worst effects of climate change, countries only have a limited amount of time to act. That is why it is crucial for national, regional, and local authorities to stay up-to-date when it comes to looking for new solutions that can help in the fight against climate change.

ECF’s new article series shines the spotlight on the cargo bike, a rising star in the sustainable transition of our cities, by taking a closer look at what roles cargo bikes play in Brussels and Lisbon, two major European cities.
Without a doubt, cargo bikes show great potential to increasingly shift away from motorised vehicles. In Europe, it is estimated that 50% of all motorised trips that involve the transport of goods in cities could be shifted to cargo bikes and bicycles. Private trips represent the biggest potential with two-thirds of all motorised trips being convertible to cargo bikes, an estimation that foreshadows a bright future for cargo bikes and families.

Lisbon’s municipal transport company, Carris, is working to increase the number of electric vehicles in the public transport system. A €252 million investment is foreseen to increase the fleet with 420 electric buses and 25 trams by 2023, to contribute to shifting 150,000 motorists to more sustainable modes of travel by the end of the decade.
In parallel, Lisbon has embraced micromobility as a last-mile solution, with 9 companies operating over 12,000 e-scooters in the Portuguese capital.

Lisbon’s public transportation company CARRIS has joined forces with the private sector in a project aiming to boost sustainable mobility in the country’s capital through the use of 100% used cooking oils.

A city that changes
Now the time has finally arrived for local authorities to demonstrate that Lisbon has more than earned the award. According to member of the City Council for the environment José Sá Fernandes, the city was not chosen because it was the most environmentally friendly – rather because it had proven its ability to evolve and adapt.

Based on the experience developed over the past ten years in Lisbon, the Bip/Zip program is currently at the basis of the URBACT Transfer Network Com.Unity.Lab which aims at sharing the knowledge with other cities across Europe. In this article the different tools of the strategy are outlined.

The Lisbon Municipal Assembly approved the proposal to make public transport free to use for young up to the age of 18, higher-education students up to the age of 23 and for elderly residents above the age of 65.
The measure, which is seen as a tool “to combat climate change”, as indicated by the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, will have a total annual cost of around 14.9 million euros, and should come into force in the coming months. The City will conclude an agreement with the public transit operator TML, which will extend the provision of free rides for the above-mentioned groups until 31 December 2025.
Social justice and decarbonization
The mayor of Lisbon is a firm advocate of the measure, which he sees as historic and as a way to make the Portuguese capital a model city in the fight against climate change.
"This step is social justice, it is justice for those who want to change the world and who really want to make the world better so that we have a planet we can live on. This measure is also justice in the decarbonization of the planet that we need so much, and this measure is to improve people's lives," he declared, as quoted by Jornal de Negocios.

This week, Lisbon officials informed the public that the larger Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) has won an EEA Grant that will allow for the installation of the digital meteorological system on the territory of the 18 municipalities that compose the metropolis. The project, known as CLIMA.AML, will also include 9 urban measurement micro-systems and a freely accessible online platform that will analyze the data to create continuous monitoring of the weather patterns and their impact on the communities living there.

Energy consumption at Lisbon’s historic City Hall has reduced by 36 percent through what has been hailed as the first deep energy-efficiency retrofit for a heritage building in Portugal. The achievement could pave the way for replication in other cities.
Interventions to reduce energy usage included replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, switching to LED lighting, installing solar panels and deploying advanced energy management tools.
Lisbon’s City Hall, which was completed in 1880 and is home to the Municipal Chamber of Lisbon, the Mayor and over 100 staff, was among the five most energy-consuming buildings owned by the municipality.

This year's European Green Capital is Lisbon. Its mayor, Fernando Medina (PT/PES), is a member of the European Committee of the Regions, and we asked him to introduce some of the achievements that have placed Lisbon at the forefront of Europe's greenest cities - and best places to live.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Lisbon City Council, BCSD Portugal and 56 leading companies and institutions take an important step with the signing of the Corporate Mobility Pact (CMP). Stakeholders have committed to over 200 mobility actions to make mobility more sustainable in Lisbon .
This initiative is a response to the challenge of the Mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, for whom “decarbonization presents itself as the greatest challenge of our generation. We need to reduce our emissions and make all types of transport more sustainable. Every day counts and every action is important. ”

Carris, the company responsible for Lisbon’s public transport network, has launched its newest eco-friendly initiative – namely six buses, travelling along already established transport routes, running on biofuel, made out of recycled cooking oil.
The new vehicles were inaugurated just last week and through their new innovative power supply, they will be emitting 83% fewer carbon emissions.