Environmental association ZERO wants to reduce dependence on log fires in Portugal, saying they cause air pollution. The call comes as the next few days are due to be very cold, and likely to see families stoking their fires more than normal. ZERO considers this form of heating to be ‘obsolete’ and a sign of ‘energetic poverty’. Portugal ranks only above Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria when it comes to more sophisticated forms of heating. ZERO stresses that a quarter of deaths among old people in winter in Portugal are due to energetic poverty.
