The Metropolitan Plan for the Adaptation to Climate Change (PMAAC) within the Porto Metropolitan Area seeks to establish a strategic guide to facilitate the adaptation of the Porto Metropolitan Area to climate challenges, to definitely register the threats of climate challenges on the agenda of politicians and planners, and to create a much more engaged and demanding audience on the subject.

This guide draws the main lines that will help each municipality select the necessary actions to individually adapt to current and future climate challenges, as well as actions shared with other municipalities, thus optimizing the results of their investment.

Each municipality’s climate change adaptation measures must be part of its land management, improving the decision process and strengthening its response capacity and local management of extreme climate events.

Therefore, it is necessary to produce a detailed diagnosis covering the multiple metropolitan specificities and enabling a subsequent answer to the following questions:

1. Is there a municipal guiding reference framework on methodologies to support decision as far as adaptation to climate change (ADAM) is concerned?

2. Is there public engagement and participation in the diagnosis/identification of vulnerabilities?

3. Is there enough public engagement to look for prevention, adaptation and mitigation measures?

4. Are climate risks a priority among municipal political decision-makers and technical teams?

5. Is the stimulus-response mechanics underlying climate risks recognized by the local population?

6. Are climate risks considered a relevant threat by the local population?

7. Are the decisions on the climate risks’ prevention, adaptation and mitigation measures taken in a co-responsibility environment?

8. Is there a close connection between decision-makers and those targeted by the decisions of prevention, adaptation and mitigation of climate risks?

9. How is scientific and technical capacity to put away the climate menace appraised?

10. How strong is the relation between the adaptation to climate change and the achievements in the quality of life and wellbeing standards?

11. Which are the main intervention areas, considering the scientific investigation and the perception of this territory’s makers and users? 

Plan available for consultation in Portuguese.