Filenews 14 January 2022
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment refers to the "inaccurate and levelling" reports of AKEL, in relation to the implementation of policies and measures of the present Government, for environmental actions, which states that on its part it plans and implements an integrated policy to address climate change.
Responding to a statement on Thursday to the reports of AKEL in relation to climate change, the Ministry of Agriculture points out that "the present Government implements structured policies that govern horizontally all economic activities, aiming at the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change, the rational management of liquid and solid waste, the protection of water resources, the preservation of biodiversity, the enhancement of resource efficiency, sustainable urban mobility and the integration of the environmental dimension into development actions".
"The derogatory reports of AKEL flatten and nullify the entire project, as well as all the executives and scientists working for its implementation", says the Ministry of Agriculture, which states that it is always at the disposal of all parties, for the presentation and explanation of the policies implemented by the Government, but also for the discussion of their constructive suggestions.
According to the competent Ministry "regarding the timely preparation of a plan for adaptation to climate change in all sectors, the Council of Ministers on 18/5/2017, following a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, established by a relevant Decision the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change".
At the same time, it notes that for the implementation of the Strategy, a relevant Action Plan has been prepared which includes a series of actions in all sectors with a medium-term horizon, which are implemented by the competent implementing bodies.
In addition, he mentions that the Department of Environment is the monitoring body for the implementation of the measures for the adaptation of the National Strategy and the Action Plan, and prepares a relevant Annual Report, while he adds that the National Strategy for Adaptation, the Action Plan and the Annual Reports are posted for the purpose of informing any interested party on the website of the Department of Environment.
«In the Recovery and Resilience Plan submitted by the Republic of Cyprus and approved by the European Commission, more than 40% of the budget, i.e. an amount amounting to approximately half a billion euros, concerns green transition and climate change projects. The total budget of these projects is greater than that foreseen, in accordance with Cyprus' contractual obligations. This fact also demonstrates the emphasis placed by the Government on these areas", he adds.
Among other things, the Ministry of Agriculture states that "clean and green energy has been dynamically integrated into the energy balance of our country, through the implementation of plans to encourage the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Saving".
At the same time, it notes that "Cyprus fully respects the obligations arising from its active participation in international organizations and is consistent with its international and European obligations, while achieving, so far, all its binding targets".
He also adds that "as far as the revenues for the auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances are concerned, they end up in the fixed fund of the State and through which the policies and measures to achieve the goal of green growth are implemented (through the annual budgets".
Finally, he notes that recognizing the importance of international cooperation in addressing a global problem such as Climate Change, President Anastasiades undertook the Initiative to bring together the countries of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean, which will cooperate for the implementation of measures proposed by more than 240 scientists working within the framework of this initiative.
