Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 27^th September 2023

Good morning, Portugal is current experiencing a very nice week weather wise, but for those travelling to the UK today, the weather maybe rather different!

The first named storm of the autumn and winter season is expected to hit the United Kingdom and Ireland today. Named by the Met Office, Storm Agnes is likely to bring damage and disruption from strong winds and heavy rain. The Met Office severe weather warnings are already in force but we expect to get further updates as the week progresses.

Also concerning travel, for those who maybe visiting Greece there are forecasts of a rainfall accumulation of over 300 mm of rain over the next day or so. We are monitoring this on our Facebook group, SCP Protection against Natural Disasters, given the extreme nature of the event and potential impact.

A reminder that included in the groups services, is providing an overview of any natural disaster taking place overseas, or warnings of extreme weather that may result in a disaster, and therefore impact on visitors from Portugal in that area, or relatives of group members living in the affected area.

Although the air temperatures are very warm in most places on the mainland at present, autumn started on 23^rdSeptember with a minimum air temperature of 2.4C in Lamas de Mouro and in Montalegre 4.3C and Bragança Aerodrome 4.9C. It is therefore an apt time to start planning for the cooler months ahead. Unfortunately winter is the time when most household fires occur, many at night time often caused by lack of safety in the maintenance and use of safety of heating equipment.

We suggest therefore to start by making a plan/check list of what you need to do to keep warm this winter, such as: getting chimneys cleaned; buying pellets early as in previous year’s stocks have run out; checking gas pipes if you are using bottled gas fires – replace if in doubt; Check electrical heating equipment. If using fireplaces, salamanders or gas equipment maintain the correct ventilation in rooms in order to avoid the accumulation of harmful gas and also check expiry dates on fire extinguishers and the battery in carbon monoxide alarms. A few simple things but important in terms of safety. We will be covering more of this over the next few months.

The Judicial Police are reminding people of scams through “Vishing”. It seems that this scheme is back as several people have received telephone calls, in which they are “informed”, through a recording in English, that it is a contact from the Judiciary Police and/or EUROPOL. In this recording, the person is advised to select one of the options to establish a conversation with an “Inspector”. By activating this option, you are then “informed” that your bank account is being used in a fraudulent scheme and advised to transfer the respective balance to “secure accounts”, in order to prevent the criminals from appropriating it.

If you receive such a contact, do not provide your personal data or follow the instructions received. Record the number of the contact made and contact the Judicial Police or another police entity, reporting the situation.

On Monday the Minister of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, was attacked with green paint by three young climate activists, in Lisbon, during a conference, shouting slogans protesting against the Government concerning climate change. Although we accept that people feel passionately about this topic, these forms of demonstration do not work and contribute little to the climate cause. A more effective way to bring about change, is to follow and encourage others to follow, the ways to slow down the pace of climate change, which we can all contribute to in a more positive and constructive way, through garnering the support of society as a whole, including governments.

Our team at Safe Communities Portugal wishes you a safe week ahead

Minister of the Environment attacked with green paint at conference

Lisbon, 26 Sep 2023 (Lusa) – The Minister of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, was attacked today with green paint by three young climate activists, in Lisbon, during a CNN conference on energy transition in which the companies Galp and EDP participated.

A few minutes after the start of the conference, when the Minister of the Environment took the floor, the three young women went to the stage and threw green paint that hit Duarte Cordeiro on his clothes, while shouting slogans protesting the Government.

“The Government proved that it does not care about the climate transition by holding conferences with EDP and GALP”, “This will be the last gas winter”, “We do not allow them to sell our future” and “GALP and EDP do not They want to know about the just transition”, were some of the phrases that the young women shouted.

The activists were, however, removed from the room and the conference was interrupted for the minister to change his clothes and the room to be cleaned.

Duarte Cordeiro, invited to speak about the goals and public policies for the energy transition, returned to the room a few minutes later, and the conference resumed, in which he argued that “these forms of demonstration do not work” and contribute to the climate cause “lose social support.”

“I don’t complain about those who take to the streets to demand for their planet and their future, […] I complain about certain forms of demonstration that are intolerant and aim to seek, through intolerance, to silence others “, stated the Minister of the Environment, highlighting that the Government considers that companies should be “involved in the [energy] transition process”.

The protest action was claimed by the student group “Primavera das Ocupas – Fim ao Fóssil” on social media, with the action’s spokesperson, Matilde Ventura, accusing the conference promoted by CNN of being “a facade to clean up the image of companies in Portugal that are profiting from the climate and cost of living crises”.