URGENT AIRPORT DEBATE

Portugal’s Socialist Party (PS) has called for an urgent parliamentary debate about the centre-tight government’s plan to suspend the European border control arrangement at Lisbon airport. The centre-left Socialists have been highly critical of the government’s handling of border issues, accusing it of “unpreparedness” and “incompetence.” This, the PS is claiming, has led to chaos among passengers at the Lisbon airport terminal.  

 

AIRPORT ACTIONS u[DATE

 

 

The Portuguese government has suspended its relatively new entry-exit border system for nom-EU citizens after weeks of chaos for arrivals at Lisbon airport from non-Schengen counties.

 

Quite separately, strike plans by baggage handlers at all major Portuguese airports have been called off. The strike had been expected to proceed from December 31 to January 1 causing much disruption and delays if not some flight cancellations.

Travellers should keep checking to make sure that this situation remains stable. 

MAJOR FLIGHT DUSRUPTIONS

 The year is ending with disruptions for travelers to and from all of Portugal’s major airports.  A nationwide strike from Wednesday December 31 to Thursday January 1 is expected to affect flights to and from Lisbon, Faro Porto, Madeira and Porto Santo. Delays for domestic and international are expected for check-in services, baggage loading and unloading and aircraft turnaround times.   Ground handling workers are going on strike in protest over “uncertainty over job security” due to the Civil Aviation Authority tender for ground handling licences.   Not all flights are expected to be cancelled, but passengers are advised to keep well informed.    We will keep reporting here on any important strike developments.    By the way:  We’re back here again after the postponement to focus on my latest book, which is now being edited prior to publication. 

EU election’s impact on climate action

During and in the immediate aftermath of the European Parliamentary elections, most voters seem to have been preoccupied with what they consider the most pressing issues in their own country, namely the cost of living, immigration and defence.

Since then, it has become clearer that the existential threat of global warming will be partly helped, but also hindered, by the election results.

It will be helped that the two climate conscious centrist groups have an overall majority in the new parliament.  Ursula Von Der Leyen, the incumbent centrist leader of the EU Commission, the organisation’s top authority, is a firm believer in the bloc’s ‘Green Deal’ to do all possible to tackle the climate crisis and achieve net zero CO2 emissions as targeted. Portugal is among Europe’s most supportive countries in that goal with the elimination of fossil fuels.

The overall turnout for the elections was just over 50%^, about the same as in 2019. In Portugal, only 36.5% of eligible voters went to the polls. It was an even lower turnout elsewhere. This, and the fact that the Green parties did so badly in the elections, will hinder climate activism.

The Greens fell from fourth to sixth overall in the parliament by losing a third of their seats since the last elections in 2019. The loss was mainly in France and Germany, it is thought that the losses were due not only to the big gains by the far-right, but also because many younger voters did not vote at all.

Another setback has been the results for the European Renew party, which lost 23 seats and is reduced to 79, though it is still the third largest party after the two centrist groups.

The shift to far-right populism during the EU elections was particularly strong in Germany and France. It could make it much more difficult o progress with Green Deal policies, which may fizzle though not be ditched

The Green Deal, first announced in 2019, aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions levels by at least 55% by2030, compared to 1990 levels.

Climate scepticism seems to have been substantially increasing in Europe in recent years while more attention is focused on worries about the cost of living, in the face of inflation, immigration, especially from the Middle East and other non-EU countries, and defence due to Russia’s aggression.

As summer approaches, we are again going to be challenged by alarming if not cataclysmic temperature rises and associated extreme environmental disasters.

Grim news, but we must face the truth.

EXISTENTIAL CLIMATE RISK

Reviews claim that the 193 countries plus the European Union attending the latest United Nations conference on climate change failed to curtail the risk of an existential catastrophe.

COP30 in Brazil closed with disagreements, especially regarding the use of fossil fuels.

While relatively insignificant on the global stage, Portugal is among the most advanced in promoting renewable sources of energy and eliminating all fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

Positive aspects of the latest conference were the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund aimed at helping developing countries with the impact of climate change. A calmer attitude was also adopted towards the many thousands of Indigenous-led protesters in the streets of the Brazilian capital, Belém, demanding urgent climate change action with the phase-out of fossil fuels.

However, there was a very significant number of fossil fuel lobbyists at the conference, and notable absences particularly from the United States whose president is famously in denial about climate change.

More than 30 years of talks since the supposedly pivotal Paris climate summit, greenhouse gas emissions are still expanding — and thus global temperatures are still rising. The 1.5 °C level has been dangerously passed.

While there was much resistance to progress, there was also “a clamour for change inside the COP30 climate negotiations,” according to the Reuters News Agency.

Forbes has been emphasising how people aged 30 and under are investigating and developing possible climate solutions.

Another COP critic says, “we need to turn away from jamborees around negotiations into really focused efforts to accelerate implementation,” one European negotiator said. “This is probably the last of the old COP and the beginning of the new.

GETTING RID OF PLASTICS

Now that the severe Storm Claudia has passed leaving much flooding, property and tree damage, and even deaths and injuries, Portugal must calmly look forward to another national problem in the months ahead.

 

The government will introduce a plastic bottle return (PBR) scheme on April 10th next year. The system will apply to single-use plastic bottles and aluminium or steel cans containing up to three litres.

 

It means that people will pay a deposit every time they buy such a beverage container and then receive their deposit back on returning it.

Supermarkets and food retail shops throughout mainland Portugal, as well as on the autonomous islands of Madeira and the Azores, will be involved.

 

The PDR scheme has been long delayed in being properly implemented in Portugal. However, at long last it will now follow the example set in 50 other countries, some of which, such as Germany, already have over 90% returns. The scheme is expected to grow rapidly next year in Portugal and include all types of plastic packaging.

 

For now, Portugal is cutting plastic use by banning such single-use items as plastic cutlery, plates, and polyester cups. It has also imposed a tax on non-reusable packaging. Businesses are being prompted through increasing legislation to make all types of plastics re-usable, recyclable or compostable.  Local communities and various organisations are busy implementing clean-ups and educational awareness programmes. 

 

 

SEVERE ATMOSPHERIC STORM

The severe solar and geomagnetic storms currently affecting much of Europe and North America are due to disturbances in the sun’s magnetic field.

Such storms can cause short or long-term power cuts and electronic communication disruptions. Longer blackouts occur when copper connectivity fails and damages equipment in the telecom networks.

 

On the positive side, solar storms produce beautiful auroras (northern lights) provided of course the night sky is relatively clear. Such lights have been seen in parts of  Portugal in the last few days.

Shortly after 10 pm on Tuesday November 11th an intense solar flare was observed. It was followed less than an hour later by a massive coronal ejection with a speed estimated to be around 1500 kilometres per second, arriving on earth the following evening or early next morning, according to several university analysists.

The geometric storm may continue to affect power grids, satellites and navigation systems, but the experts say it does not pose a direct biological risk to people.

The European Space Agency is closely monitoring this unusual space weather event and will keep us updated.