Energy transition, renewable energy incorporation targets, sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction criteria, fuels, electricity, industry, transport and buildings, guarantees of origin and credit system.

It establishes national targets for renewable energy and sustainability criteria for fuels, partially transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2413.

This legislation partially transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2413 into national law, focusing on aspects relating to the promotion of energy from renewable sources and the redefinition of the targets and instruments necessary for its implementation. In this context, enhanced national targets have been set for the integration of renewable energy into gross final energy consumption, as well as specific sectoral targets applicable to buildings, industry, heating and cooling, and the transport sector, setting levels of ambition higher than those provided for in Decree-Law No 84/2022 of 9 December 2022. To ensure these targets are met, the legislation lays down stringent sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction criteria applicable to the production and use of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels, as well as to renewable fuels of non-biological origin and recycled carbon fuels. These criteria reflect the growing recognition of the need to align bioenergy policies with the cascading use principle, ensuring efficient use of resources and avoiding adverse environmental impacts. The decree-law also establishes a system for issuing guarantees of origin, covering electricity generated from renewable sources, heating and cooling energy from renewable sources, renewable and lowcarbon gases, as well as energy production in high-efficiency cogeneration plants. These mechanisms are essential for ensuring the traceability, transparency and credibility of renewable energy in the market, enabling consumers and economic operators to verify the sustainable origin of the energy they use. In the transport and industry sector, specific mechanisms are defined to promote the use of biofuels and biogas, recognising the role of these energy carriers in decarbonising sectors that are difficult to electrify. At the same time, the decree-law stipulates that renewable fuels of non-biological origin must be accounted for in the sector in which they are actually consumed, in line with the European framework. In addition, the decree-law provides for flexibility and market mechanisms, including a credit system that allows fuel suppliers to exchange credits linked to the supply of renewable energy to the transport sector. Economic operators supplying renewable electricity to electric vehicles via public charging points can thus obtain transactional credits with fuel suppliers subject to national obligations, promoting economic efficiency and the integration of innovative solutions.

At the same time, it recognises the importance of cooperation between Member States in promoting renewable energy, through instruments such as statistical transfers, support schemes or joint projects, thereby facilitating more costeffective deployment and contributing to the integration of the internal energy market