“Municipal and regional climate action plans are part of the response to heatwaves and rural fires—but they need to be developed,” the organization states in a newly released communication.
In light of recent heatwaves and fires, which resulted in some of the largest burnt areas on the continent, it was also emphasized in the document that each region and municipality should create the Municipal Climate Action Plans (PMAC) and Regional Climate Action Plans (PRAC).
These plans can play “a vital role in preventing and reducing the consequences of rural fires and mitigating the effects of heatwaves on communities,” and according to the Climate Framework Law, they should have all been presented by February 1, 2024. As of now, “less than half have been.”
However, the association warns that the lack of concrete mitigation and adaptation measures to climate warming “increases the vulnerability of territories and populations” against more frequent heatwaves and fires.
The plans can, as exemplified, guide land occupation to avoid 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 choice of tree species more resistant to fire and drought.
The PRAC and PMAC can also anticipate specific preventive measures to protect populations and infrastructures against more extreme climate scenarios, support efficient water management, or invest in nature-based solutions and the monitoring and use of early warning systems.
According to the organization, the Regional Coordination Commissions (CCDR) bear additional responsibility since they have the technical means to draft the plans, and the central government “must take on, with much greater determination, the responsibility of ensuring municipalities and regional services have the financial resources and technical support necessary so that climate planning shifts from paper to concrete action.”
In the communication, the organization also praises the “historic decision” of the Braga Administrative and Fiscal Court, which recently ruled in favor of an action filed by a citizen of Valença, condemning the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission for failing to draft its Regional Climate Action Plan, violating the legal deadline stipulated in the Climate Framework Law.
This precedent “shows that the judiciary is vigilant and refuses inaction, with courts ready to act in defense of the climate,” warns the organization, urging the CCDR and municipalities to comply with the law, “taking on the fight against climate change as a cross-cutting priority.”
