Aldeias Históricas de Portugal plans to become the first Village Network at European level to benefit from a water and energy efficiency position, in order to become a sustainable urban network and a pioneer in its contribution to the green growth of low-density territories.
Last Friday 17th March, in the Historic Village of Idanha-a-Velha, the destination Aldeias Históricas de Portugal signed a partnership with ADENE - Agency for Energy, E-REDES and Greenvolt, with which to implement carbon neutrality throughout the destination. A project that is part of the plan and process of continuous improvement in sustainability that the destination is carrying out with Biosphere and the Responsible Tourism Institute, as a Biosphere Certified destination.
Preserving the 12 Historical Villages of Portugal is synonymous with preserving the roots of their history and the origins of some of the first peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, making them more sustainable and ensuring their future is one of the priorities and pillars of the project "Towards Carbon Neutrality".
The challenge is to make the changes associated with decarbonisation compatible with the maintenance of the heritage identity and the peculiarities of each Historic Village. It is therefore a transition that requires the capacity for transversal action; a collaborative process, in the spirit of circularity, energy transition and carbon neutrality as an act of responsibility, where the Network of Historical Villages of Portugal will involve all its actors and stakeholders, current and future, to participate in this initiative.
In line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal, this is a decisive step towards the objective of becoming the first Village Network at European level to benefit from a water and energy efficiency position, under the mission of becoming a sustainable urban network and a pioneer in its contribution to the green growth of low density territories.
It should be recalled that energy and water efficiency are part of the Action Plan for the Local Energy and Climate Agenda, addressed in the framework of the Covenant of Mayors Programme, in which the AHP-ADT, as promoter, and the municipalities, as signatories, have committed to a 45% CO2 reduction by 2030; a commitment that requires co-responsibility, tenacity and collective work. In fact, the implicit transformation towards full sustainability also requires the preservation of the heritage identity of Portugal's Historical Villages. This is a difficult equation, but achievable, thanks to the network of actors that they have managed to form, in order to pool resources, knowledge and experience.
The project "Towards carbon neutrality" demonstrates once again the commitment of the Historical Villages of Portugal Biosphere destination to sustainability.
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