Southern EU countries pledge tighter cooperation
to battle climate change
It’s a response to this summer’s fires, flood and
heat.
BY NEKTARIA
STAMOULI
September
17, 2021 8:04 pm
ATHENS — A
broiling summer and raging wildfires made Greece a hot spot for the impact of
climate change — now it's leading an effort to make the region more resilient.
A summit of
southern EU countries on Friday agreed to a pledge focusing on the need for
joint action to tackle the climate crisis. Greece, France, Italy, Spain,
Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia and Croatia adopted a common declaration
focusing on climate change, biodiversity, forest management, the marine
environment, and civil protection, prevention and preparedness.
“The
climate crisis is no longer a distant threat, it has landed firmly on our
shores,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, calling it “the
greatest ecological catastrophe of the last few decades."
European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as the “right move at
the right time” to tackle what she called "the horrifying wildfires and
the stark rain and the flooding" of past months.
“We all see
that climate change is heavily affecting the Mediterranean region and we need
to find solutions and we can offer solutions,” she said.
“The
Mediterranean region is potentially the most affected by climate change,”
European Council President Charles Michel said in a televised address, adding
that the only solution to the climate crisis is to make Europe the first
climate-neutral continent and implement the measures set out in the Green Deal
that are crucial for transforming the economic and social model.
The leaders
reiterated their commitment to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to
work together to achieve an ambitious outcome at November's COP26 climate
summit to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.
They also
committed to combat the loss of natural habitats and degradation through
enhanced cross-border collaboration, and to increase investment in forest
management to combat soil erosion and protect drainage basins. There is also a
commitment to strengthen cooperation on civil protection, prevention and
preparedness across the region.
The Greek
government has faced severe criticism over how it managed the devastating
blazes and is under pressure to shore up its response to the climate crisis
Earlier
this month, Mitsotakis created a special ministry to handle the climate crisis
and appointed Christos Stylianides, previously the European commissioner for
humanitarian aid and crisis management, to head the department.
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