The current report is the application to the Portuguese energy system of the methodology for analysis of the relations between the energy system and the environment and society, developed by HELIO International for its project Sustainable Energy Watch (SEW). It is part of a number of similar exercises being conducted in Europe and other continents as a contribution to the debate on sustainable energy systems that will be a feature in the World Sustainable Development Summit of Johannesburg later this year.

This report review the past ten years of energy policy developments in Portugal and the achievements and failures within the period. This period coincides roughly with the period since the first negotiations that were to lead to the 1992 Rio Summit, and the report therefore provides a certain vision of the developments in the light of the commitments that nations took upon themselves at the time.

The Portuguese energy system has developd quite considerably throughout the period. In many respects, the energy sector can be said to have achieved some basic development progress, such as almost universal electricity coverage of the population, and some of the first, low-hanging fruits of environmental policy can be said to have been reaped in the decade, as with SO2 emissions (despite the simultaneous growth in other pollutants, stemming from other energy uses). Being a middle-to-high income country experiencing fast growth in a period of convergence and integration with Europe, Portugal failed in promoting in this period of growth the necessary requirements for transition to a more sustainable pattern of energy use. This is particularly patent in the developments of indicator 1 (per capita energy sector CO2 emissions). As with other sectors in the economy, the energy sector in Portugal demonstrated a lack of investment in more advanced energy technology, a general lack of concern with energy conservation and a low penetration rate of renewable technology. This pattern is further characterized by indicator 7, reporting on the energy intensity of production in Portugal. Unlike almost all of the other OECD members, including similar members (in relation to economic development) such as Greece and Mexico, energy intensity actually increased throughout the period.
 

The survey stops at 1998, for most indicators. Anecdotal evidence would indicate that most of the trends reported are still present today, with the notable exception of the boom in the expansion of renewable, in particular, wind energy capacity, policy induced by a lower administrative requirement and a higher feed-in tariff.