Portugal is the European Union country where renewable energies have the greatest weight in energy consumption for home cooling, reaching 86.6%, well above the European average. It is a leadership position that confirms something that I have been defending: the Portuguese bet on renewables is no longer just a promise and is beginning to represent a real strategic advantage.

But there is another fact that we cannot ignore. In just six years, the energy consumption for cooling homes in the European Union has almost doubled. Between 2018 and 2024, European households consumed almost twice as much energy to keep their homes cool during the hottest periods. What could once be seen as just a seasonal discomfort is quickly turning into an energy, economic, urban and social issue.

Portugal is in a particularly interesting position. We have a high renewable production, many hours of sunshine and natural conditions that allow us to move faster in the electrification of consumption. However, we still have a huge ageing housing stock, buildings with poor thermal insulation and many families living in houses unable to respond adequately to both the cold of winter and the heat of summer.

This is where, in my opinion, we should be careful with easy celebrations. Leading the way in the weight of renewables is extraordinarily positive, but consuming clean energy to cool inefficient homes cannot be the ultimate goal. The most sustainable energy remains the one we can avoid wasting.

The future of Portuguese housing will inevitably have to go through better materials, thermal insulation, climate-adapted architecture, shading, natural ventilation, decentralised energy production and intelligent building management technologies. It is not enough to install more air conditioners and increase the capacity of the electrical network. We need homes that need less energy to offer comfort.

There is also a huge economic opportunity in this transformation. Energy rehabilitation, new materials, sustainable construction, storage, solar and smart energy management can create companies, qualified employment and innovation in Portugal.

The data show that we are already on the right track. Being the European leader in the use of renewables for domestic cooling is a source of pride. But the real ambition must be greater.

Portugal should not only want to have the cleanest energy to cool its homes. You should want to build and renovate homes that need less and less energy to remain comfortable.

That will be true leadership.