Filenews 9 October 2023
The Government's aim is to mitigate the consequences and crises caused by climate change, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said today.
Addressing a press conference on the Subsidy Scheme for the Strengthening of Resilience and Adaptation of Communities to Climate Change, held in the morning at the Environmental Information Centre of Mountainous Larnaka in Skarinou, the Minister said that "under the weight of human activity, the ozone hole and the greenhouse effect, the consequence of climate change is the more frequent recording of extreme weather events, such as extremely high temperatures, heavy rainfall and drought."
He added that "to address the consequences of climate change, coordinated and targeted actions are needed at multiple levels. Greening communities and improving building design contribute, among other things, to improving the protection of the environment, human health and biodiversity," he said.
According to the Minister of Interior, "the aim of the Christodoulides Government is to mitigate the consequences and crises caused by climate change. To this end, the implementation of actions and policies is promoted, in line with European and international directives and practices."
After mentioning that "environmental protection concerns everyone, the State and civil society", Mr. Ioannou said that "in view of the implementation of the ambitious project of reforming Local Government and the establishment of service clusters in the Communities for better and more direct service to citizens, local communities should strengthen their capacity to respond adequately and effectively to modern challenges, such as climate change."
In this context, he noted that "and taking advantage of the opportunities of the Recovery and Resilience Plan "Cyprus, Tomorrow", the Council of Ministers approved last July the Grant Scheme for Building the Resilience and Adaptation of Communities to Climate Change, which is funded by the European Mechanism Next Generation EU, with a total budget of €2.9 million.
He also mentioned that "beneficiaries of the Plan are the Community Councils, which are called upon to play a leading role by taking action to mitigate and minimise the effects of climate change, in order to increase the level of prosperity of their citizens. This Plan is a powerful tool for the Community and, in combination with other Incentive Schemes, is expected to strengthen their resilience to severe climate changes that are taking place with ominous predictions of a growth of the problem in the future".
In his address, the Minister also referred to the green transition, saying that "it is a long-term commitment and requires multiple and broad actions with multiple benefits from them. The adoption of actions concerns the management of the effects of climate change that have a positive impact on the reduction of air pollution, cooling, rainwater runoff, the development of biodiversity, as well as the quality of life and well-being of people".
These actions, he continued, "include rational spatial planning that regulates land use taking into account flood areas, streams, erosion and other geological hazards, high fire risk areas, food sufficiency and protection of flora and fauna."
He also said that "actions in relation to the scale of built-up areas – cities and villages – concern the design of public open spaces, the creation of pedestrian and bicycle paths to facilitate sustainable urban mobility, the use of permeable and cold materials and the planting of trees in open outdoor spaces, the creation of parks and green oases. Planting trees alone has already been proven to effectively reduce the urban heat island effect," he said, noting that "the state's goal is to plant one million trees."
The implementation of incentive schemes that encourage culture change by adopting environmentally friendly interventions, Mr. Ioannou said, "allow a rapid transition to green growth and circular economy and lead to climate neutrality. The green transition is a major challenge for governments worldwide, so we need to develop long-term integrated planning to promote sustainable energy and environmental practices for the benefit of our planet and future generations."
He also noted that "ensuring our country's resilience to climate change, in light of sustainable development principles, can only be achieved through synergies and support of local communities and citizens' awareness, and it is important to see organizations aiming in this direction."
In his address, Andreas Kitromilides, President of the Union of Cyprus Communities and President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Energy Agency, said that the Communities can now make use of the Subsidy Scheme, since it is "the first Scheme in Cyprus that concerns exclusively Community Councils, with 100% funding for the implementation of Climate Change Adaptation investments".
He added that "over time, the Communities of Cyprus have been faced with climate challenges, such as rising temperatures, water scarcity, as well as severe weather phenomena, such as storms, floods and heat waves." "Climate models, unfortunately, predict that in the coming years, these phenomena will intensify, counting more days of heatwave, drought, and/or heavy rainfall that can cause flooding," he said.
Mr. Kitromilidis called on the Community Councils "to seize the opportunity and make full use of the €2.9 million budget that has been allocated for this purpose", expressed certainty that "this Plan will be crowned with success and its importance will be highlighted" and promised that "in cooperation with the competent Ministries and Bodies, we will take actions so that this effort that begins today, to be further strengthened, accompanied by additional funding, so that even more projects can be implemented that will strengthen the resilience of local communities."
Moreover, Panagiotis Damianou, deputy President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Energy Agency (EOC), said that "at the beginning of 2021, the Union of Communities was invited to contribute to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and involved the Cyprus Energy Agency to submit their joint recommendations so that the Plan responds better to the Communities".
"The Subsidy Scheme is pioneering for Cyprus, since it is the first that concerns exclusively Communities and their Adaptation to Climate Change," he added.
The philosophy of the Plan, Mr. Damianou said, "is to invest in the Resilience of Communities to present and future climate conditions."
"The operational readiness to face the challenges, although equally important, is essentially preventive action that will contribute to limiting the catastrophic consequences of climate change by safeguarding lives, private and public property," he concluded.
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