The Regional Environment Director stated this morning that the Regional Plan for Climate Change (PRAC) should be adopted by the end of 2017. It is an essential tool for planning and intervention in the territory with regard to the mitigation of emissions and the needs to adapt to climate change.
 
Hernâni Jorge spoke in Horta in the context of a meeting held by the working group responsible for the preparation of PRAC. The government official said the plan includes these two major axes. According to him, "the Region will have an assessment tool for the mitigation of emissions, through an annual inventory of emission sources and greenhouse gas sinks as well as the implementation of strategies and measures towards its reduction." On the other hand, "we have a programme for adaptation to climate change, which is an absolutely urgent matter for archipelago territory such as the Azores."
 
The Regional Director also noted that the concerns are "growing", since the "effects are already being felt," and lamented the lack of consensus and commitment of the two largest economies in the world - USA and China.
 
"The Region is a small part of the whole process on a global scale, but it is essential that these two economies - USA and China - join the fight against climate change once and for all. This affects all regions, particularly the Azores, located in the middle of the Atlantic, as they will always suffer the consequences of the bad decisions and the lack of action from the main economies," said Hernâni Jorge.
 
The proposal for Regional Plan on Climate Change will be delivered in early July, followed by a public consultation process under the legal terms to take place between August and September this year.