The Ministry of the Environment and Energy () is a Portuguese government ministry. The Ministry was formed in 2013 by narrowing the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) is a public institute that operates within the scope of the Ministry and works on environmental policy.
Name changes From 2013 - 2018, the department was entitled Minister of the Environment, Territorial Planning and Energy, it was then renamed to the Ministry of Environment and Energy Transition. In 2023 the ministry was renamed from Ministry of Environment and Climate Action to the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
Leadership From its founding in 2013 until 2015, Jorge Moreira da Silva was the Minister of the Environment, Territorial Planning and Energy. João Pedro Matos Fernandes served as minister from 2015 to 2022. Duarte Cordeiro was minister from March 2022 to April 2024. Graça Carvalho was appointed minister in April 2024.
Controversies
The Ministry of Environment was the site of raids during the probe into corruption on the part of then Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Costa's premiership stands accused of corruption and malfeasance regarding various deals for lithium mines, a hydrogen production plant, and a data center. President of the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) Nuno Lacasta was one of the suspects on warrants related to the probe.
In 2024, Lisbon climate activists occupied the Ministry of Environment, attaching themselves to railings and blocking access to workers. Their demands included the cessation of fossil fuel use by 2030.
List of Ministers Colour key #PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePartyPrime Minister1Manuel da Rocha(1913–1981)15 May 197417 July 1974Ind.Adelino da Palma Carlos2José Augusto Fernandes(?–?)17 July 19748 August 1975Ind.Vasco Gonçalves3Henrique Oliveira e Sá(1919–2020)8 August 197519 September 1975Ind.–Vacant office19 September 19755 January 1990José Pinheiro de AzevedoMário SoaresAlfredo Nobre da CostaCarlos Mota PintoMaria de Lourdes PintasilgoFrancisco Sá CarneiroDiogo Freitas do AmaralFrancisco Pinto BalsemãoMário SoaresAníbal Cavaco Silva4Fernando Real(1923–2006)5 January 199024 April 1991PSD5Carlos Borrego(b. 1948)24 April 199111 June 1993Ind.6Teresa Patrício de Gouveia(b. 1946)11 June 199328 October 1995PSD7Elisa Ferreira(b. 1955)28 October 199525 October 1999PSAntónio Guterres8José Sócrates(b. 1957)25 October 19996 April 2002PS9Isaltino Morais(b. 1949)6 April 20025 April 2003PSDJosé Durão Barroso10Amílcar Theias(b. 1946)5 April 200321 May 2004PSD11Arlindo Cunha(b. 1950)21 May 200417 June 2004PSD12Luís Nobre Guedes(b. 1955)17 June 200412 March 2005CDS–PPPedro Santana Lopes13Francisco Nunes Correia(b. 1951)12 March 200526 October 2009PSJosé Sócrates14Dulce Pássaro(b. 1953)26 October 200921 June 2011PS15Assunção Cristas(b. 1974)21 June 201124 June 2013CDS–PPPedro Passos Coelho16Jorge Moreira da Silva(b. 1971)24 June 201326 November 2015PSD17João Pedro Matos Fernandes(b. 1967)26 November 201530 March 2022PSAntónio Costa18Duarte Cordeiro(b. 1979)30 March 20222 April 2024PS19Maria da Graça Carvalho(b. 1955)2 April 2024presentPSDLuís Montenegro References