Portugal Seeks EU Funding for Firefighting Goats

Portugal's minister for agriculture, José Manuel Fernandes, is pushing for EU funding to support a low-tech approach to preventing wildfires: letting goats, cows, and sheep graze on shrubs in high-risk areas. This method, already used in Portugal and some Spanish regions, is seen as an effective way to lower carbon emissions. Experts argue that the EU has been ignoring this approach for too long. Fernandes suggests using funds from the EU's Emissions Trading System to support the grazing goats, citing the success of similar initiatives in reducing emissions. Other European countries, including Spain and Ireland, are also calling for increased EU funding to prepare farms against future droughts and wildfires.