On 20, 22 and 26 of September, Famalicão will host the teams of the Journey Through Climate, a national competition that aims to inform and inspire the Portuguese towards Carbon Neutrality and a more sustainable life.
The official start of this competition for environmental sustainability took place this Monday in Cascais, at a ceremony attended by the Councillor for the Environment of Vila Nova de Famalicão City Council, Hélder Pereira.
"Climate change is a worrying reality and one that conditions our collective future. In Famalicão we have invested in municipal policies towards Carbon Neutrality and the Climate Journey meets this objective," emphasises the mayor, noting that this initiative "is a way of raising awareness, in a creative and practical way, of a more sustainable lifestyle".
The initiative involves twelve participants, aged between 18 and 60, organised into three teams: Water, Air and Earth. The competition will take place in Famalicão, Faro, Gouveia, Odemira, Portimão and Viana do Castelo, and involves challenges that have a positive impact on the community, with the winning team having the opportunity to take part in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28), in Dubai, between 30 November and 12 December.
The first team will arrive in Vila Nova de Famalicão tomorrow, the 20th, and will be welcomed at 9am at the Town Hall. They will then head to the Famalicão Bus Station park, the starting point for a challenge related to mobility in the urban centre, which begins at 10am and will end at the Camilo Castelo Branco Secondary School.
The team will make three journeys using four different modes of transport - electric car, bicycle, bus (Voltas) and on foot - accounting for time and their carbon footprint. The second route will be between Famalicão Railway Station and Famalicão Hospital, and the last, between the Casa das Artes car park and the Town Hall. The challenge ends with a consultation with residents and a public talk on sustainable mobility with the presence of the Councillor for the Environment and the Councillor for Mobility, Sofia Fernandes, at 2pm at Famalicão Bus Station.
On Friday 22 September, it will be the Water team's turn to tour the municipality of Famalicense, bringing a challenge with the theme "Forest and Land Use - Flood Control and Renaturalisation of a stretch of the River Pelhe". It will involve an awareness-raising session on soil preservation with students from the CIOR Vocational School, with a presentation of the "Journey through Climate" and "Monster Hospital" projects and an intervention by specialist Pedro Teiga, followed by an activity to renaturalise a stretch of the River Pelhe for better flood control, next to the Famalicão Urban Gardens (HUFA).
The Climate Journey will end in Famalicão on 26 September, with the Ar team exploring the potential of multi-family housing buildings in terms of charging equipment for electric cars.
All the challenges and activities of the Climate Journey are open to the community.
It should be noted that Journey for the Climate is a national competition developed as part of Cooler World - Movement Towards Carbon Neutrality, created by Get2C, a consultancy specialising in climate change, in partnership with Cascais City Council and with the support of the Environmental Fund, which has six other Portuguese municipalities as partners, including Famalicão, as well as national institutions.
