The Portuguese Minister for the Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, on Monday in Lisbon called for stronger cooperation in the energy sector among the countries that make up the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), stressing that this is an area with potential that remains little explored within the community.
The statement was made at the close of the 3rd Meeting of CPLP Energy Ministers, which brought together representatives of the nine member states in the Portuguese capital. The minister stressed that “strengthening cooperation in the area of energy” is essential, since “it was not traditionally one of the areas of cooperation within the community”.
Carvalho highlighted that this cooperation is inevitably intertwined with the climate agenda: “Cooperation is about best practices and help between the various countries, so that there is decarbonisation based on good solutions and a just transition”. She also stressed the disparity in the stages of energy transition among the countries, advocating the sharing of knowledge and experience.
Despite having hydrocarbon reserves, countries such as Angola, Mozambique and Timor-Leste have shown openness to adopting sustainable policies. “All CPLP countries have the objective of decarbonisation, having more renewable energy, greater decentralisation of energy and full electrification of the territory”, the minister reinforced.
According to Maria da Graça Carvalho, the goal is shared: “Even those that have potential and exploit fossil resources, such as Angola and Mozambique, were aligned on decarbonisation”.
Zacarias da Costa, the CPLP’s executive secretary, also argued that the energy sector should become “more and more, one of the pillars of cooperation” among the member states.
The meeting reaffirmed a joint commitment to a just energy transition, based on the sharing of sustainable solutions and on overcoming the existing asymmetries among the community’s members.
