Filenews 3 November 2021
The cost for Cyprus will be significant if it does not adapt to the EU's target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 under the "Fit for 55" programme, according to what was discussed in the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, which was briefed on Wednesday on the programme by the Department of Environment.
As the President of the Committee Charalambos Theopempto said in his statements, the program refers to the policies that will be implemented in order to achieve a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030.
He added that based on what they heard today there is a need to increase all the targets included in the Energy and Climate Plan prepared by Cyprus. He also said that the prices of the emission allowances paid by the EAC have risen enormously and there will be an increased cost of around €150 to 200 million that will be borne by the consumer with an increase in his bill. It is estimated, he said, that 35% of the cost of electricity is nothing more than the rights paid by the Republic of Cyprus for the right to broadcast pollutants.
He also said that there is an immediate need to make a national planning that will achieve the goals, a planning of monitoring and involvement of the whole society, so that there is a hope that we will be able to reach the goals.
"Anything that keeps us away from the targets will cost us dearly as a society and as consumers," he said, adding that taxes are coming on fuel, oil on ships that bring goods, on planes and on flight costs. This he said will increase the cost of living in Cyprus, so we should all "organize ourselves to achieve our goals and reduce the burden on society".
He also said that in order to achieve the target of a 55% reduction by 2030, a very long and intense struggle is beginning to harmonize Cyprus with European rules and laws and for society to face what is coming. He also said there is a duty to help people who will find it difficult because of these changes.
DISY MP Savvia Orfanidou said that there are 13 proposals within the Framework of the European Commission that are currently being discussed and it is expected that the consultation in which Cyprus participates will be completed and see what the responsibilities that will derive from these proposals will be for each Member State. He added that Cyprus, like all Member States, has drawn up the National Action Plan for climate and energy and is being implemented horizontally by all Ministries and the aim of this plan is to be able to proceed in a way that is compatible with the European acquis but also in a way that will benefit everyone in a circular way, green and sustainable growth.
Our main goal, he added, is to comply with both the penetration of RES at the rate that we need, the European one, in the coming years and to contribute to the European goal, to reduce pollutants to the extent that we need and to enhance our energy efficiency.
"Our goal is an environment that will be protected, a clean environment, the safety and health of citizens and we hope that through these plans and the Recovery Fund we will be able to achieve the European goals as well," he said.
In his statements, AKEL MP Nikos Kettiros said that we should act immediately, since the issue of climate change does not need communication management, but "it is a matter of substance, a matter of life and death literally". Measures must be taken, he said, without fear of the economic consequences, since in the long term the transition to a green economy will have a more positive impact on vulnerable groups of the population.
He also said that "the Government has not done what it should have done in previous years" and it is for this reason that instead of investing money now to promote the green economy, we are paying millions for pollutants. At the same time, he expressed his deep concern about the "absence of environmental policy in the last 8 years by the present Government" as well as the "all-out attack" on the environment by illegal developments, the destruction of protected habitats and the fragmentary implementation of legislation regarding nature protection networks.
