Porto, Dec. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister of agriculture and fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, said on Tuesday in Porto that "there is a decrease in overall consumption and an attack on wine that doesn't make sense".
"Wine needs to be consumed in moderation, as I have insisted, but I have also said, for example, that wine is part of our Mediterranean diet, just like olive oil, and is therefore something that is also essential for our economy," he emphasised.
The minister presided over the opening of the International Symposium on Viticulture and Climate, which was organised by the US Embassy in Portugal and the US Department of Agriculture's network of Climate Centres and took place at the Catholic University in Porto.
"Wine is not an enemy of the environment, quite the opposite, it is a friend of the economy, of competitiveness, of territorial cohesion, of our differences and of what our territory is," José Manuel Fernandes said.
In his speech, José Manuel Fernandes emphasised that "the fight against climate change has no borders" and that everyone must therefore cooperate.
"It is extremely important that democracies strengthen cooperation agreements. In order to combat the effects of climate change, we need to strengthen research and innovation," he added.
"Everyone has to do their bit. The European Union is doing it, we have the European Green Deal, which is a binding law that we are all committed to. As a matter of fact, 30% of the multiannual financial framework is to maintain the fight against climate change, but it is clear that everyone's effort is needed; our efforts alone, although important, will not have the effect we want" the minister noted.
He called for "democracies, at least then, to unite in defence of values and principles such as solidarity", arguing that "fighting climate change is a question of solidarity, already with current generations, but above all with future generations".
"Of course, the path has to be taken without fundamentalism. Otherwise, we'll never achieve the goals," he emphasised.
The minister also said that in January 2025, the investment timetable will be presented as part of "Água que Une" (Water that Unites), the new national strategy for water management.
"There will be billions of euros aimed at storing water to distribute it for agriculture, human consumption, and also to give rivers the necessary ecological flow. This "Water that Unites" also aims to help combat climate change, maintaining the production we have and even being able to increase it," José Manuel Fernandes told Lusa.
The symposium brings together more than 70 researchers, producers, government representatives and associations from Portugal, France, Spain and the United States to debate the common climate challenges faced by the viticulture industry, particularly in Mediterranean climates.
The experts present will identify gaps in knowledge where international collaboration and information sharing can produce better and faster results for producers.
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