In 2020, the year of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, in the area of atmospheric emissions, the main environmental stress indicators showed decreases: the Global Warming Potential (-10.0%), the Acidification Potential (-10.9%) and the Tropospheric Ozone Formation Potential (-9.3%), in a context in which economic activity (measured by Gross Value Added) suffered severe contraction (-7.8% in real terms).

The activity sectors that contributed to the decrease in the Global Warming Potential (GWP) were Transport, information and communication (-38.2%), Energy, water supply and sewerage (-16.3%) and Trade and food service activities (-10.9%), which were also the most affected by the pandemic, with significant restrictions on activity.

In 2020, the Carbon Intensity indicator of the Portuguese economy reached its lowest value since 1995, having decreased by 1.8% compared to the previous year, as a result of a reduction in GWP emissions (-10.0%) more intense than the reduction in GDP (-6.5%).