On 23 November 2019, Portuguese plaintiffs of the People’s Climate Case came together for the “Climate Change and Justice Workshop” which took place in Porto.
The event organised by the Association Famalicão em Transição, ZERO – Sustainable Terrestrial Association and the Cupertino de Miranda Foundation.
The Portuguese plaintiffs explained that the EU is not doing everything it can and should do to tackle the climate crisis and protect citizens’ fundamental rights. Hence, they are coming together with other families and indigenous Sammi youth to ask for protection of their fundamental rights.
Armando Carvalho, forest engineer who has spent more than 20 years managing and protecting his forested land near Santa Comba Dão, described how he saw and lived the destruction of his land in the deadly Portuguese wildfires in 2017.
Joaquim Caixeiro who lives together with 35 families in an organic farm, near Montemor-o-Novo explained how increasing droughts are putting the organic farming and their land. As the frequency and severity of droughts increase, these families may have to abandon their homes and farm.
Ildebrando Conceição is coming from a traditional beekeeper family and practicing family business since decades in Tomar region. During his life time, he witnessed the changes in the flowering season and the increasingly uncertain weather conditions. Especially, irregular and unpredictable seasons have begun to jeopardize activities of bees, leading to a loss of honey productivity.
In this workshop with more than 100 people coming from NGOs, academia and local authorities; the plaintiffs had the opportunity to share their stories and call upon the national and the EU decision makers to drastically increase the EU’s 2030 climate target.