Filipe Ferreira

Can you elaborate on AML’s significance in Lisbon?

AML is an inter-municipal entity that represents 18 municipalities from the Lisbon metropolitan area. In our metropolitan area, there are almost 3 million people who represent 30% of the Portuguese population and more than 30% of Portugal GDP. We are the most important Portuguese region in terms of contribution to GDP. We are the only region on the Portuguese mainland that is a developed region according to EU Cohesion Policy: we attract many tourists and a large number of economic enterprise and economic sectors. At AML, our main drivers are in three different sectors: mobility and transportation, climate action, and territorial planning. Lisbon was the 2020 European Green Capital Award winner.

What projects do you have in your pipeline to reaffirm AML as a leading player in the field of sustainability?

Our second great driver focuses on climate action and sustainability; we are among the first ones in Portugal to develop a metropolitan plan regarding climate change adaptation. We worked with the central government, municipalities, NGOs, and Lisbon University, among many others, to draw up that plan and have identified the key pillars of action that will underpin the strategy related to the sustainability of Lisbon Metropolitan Area. And now, we are identifying forms of financing for that project. We are working to renew the fleet of buses circulating within our municipalities that will be more technologically advanced and have lower emissions. We are now coordinating series of activities focused on the theme of food security and agri-food parks; we want to rethink our approach to food consumption. We are designing a framework to optimize the production, consumption, and distribution of food in all the schools operating in our municipalities. We are also developing a project with territorial stakeholders with the goal to support local producers, stimulate the central government, gather nutritionists, design new meals, create sustainable packaging, and educate the community of students about the concept of sustainable consumption.