Cyprus has a lot to benefit from the Paris agreement on climate change after 2020, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Nicos Kougialis told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Sunday.
Kougialis was actively involved in the negotiations with his Italian counterpart, as they represented the European Union in the process of drafting the Preamble of the agreement, which contains the basic principles that govern it.
The minister noted that this is a historic agreement, the most important ever achieved in the field of the environment, and the first one including all states all over the world. “I hope that we will be able to benefit from it. We just need to work hard and methodically and see how Cyprus can benefit,” he noted, adding that “the EU will create programmes to promote new energy production technology and I hope that we will be able to participate in these programmes.”
Kougialis expressed his satisfaction for the fact that he had the opportunity to represent the EU in the negotiations and for the fact that Cyprus contributed in this way to clinching this historic agreement and thanked his aides for their support.
He said he was optimistic after his one week participation in the conference that was held in Paris, “that we have all taken the messages sent and that we will all work together, collectively, to achieve the implementation of this historic agreement.”
Elaborating on the provisions of the agreement, Kougialis said that the ultimate goal of this agreement is to maintain the viability of the planet and achieve sustainable growth, noting that trillions of euro will be spent towards this direction.
Asked about the consequences of the agreement for Cyprus, the minister said that “we have undertaken the commitment to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to 1990”, adding that there is a lot of work that needs to be done as concerns electricity production using renewable energy sources, as well as in other fields, including the transport sector, agriculture and other polluting activities.
Kougialis said that the agreement achieved is only the beginning and stressed the need to work collectively in a spirit of solidarity and in a transparent way to fulfill its goals.
He stressed that the Agriculture Ministry works hard in cooperation with the Energy Ministry to promote the renewable energy sources, noting that two solar parks will be created in Cyprus before 2020 and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
He also said that the two ministries will announce projects with a view to give incentives to businesses and domestic consumers to invest in this field and to finance innovative technologies.