The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Costas Kadis, spoke today about the plight of the planet with the effects of climate change, as well as the dire consequences that humanity and the entire world will experience if the deteriorating situation continues. Dr. Costas Papanikolas, Advisor to the President and Special Envoy for Climate Change.
Their interventions took place in the context of an event on the sidelines of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, during which they presented the initiative of the President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis, to address the consequences of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Mr. Kadis presented the aspect that concerns the decision-making regarding the Initiative of the President of the Republic.
For his part, Dr. Papanikolas presented the scientific findings of the Cyprus Institute on the effects of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East as part of the Initiative, which has been adopted by a total of 18 countries in the region.
The event was co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean and other bodies.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Kadis said, among other things, that the message of the scientific community is the immediate need for coordinated action, in order to effectively address the consequences of climate change in our region.
He stressed that President Anastasiadis has received this message with the result that Cyprus will take an international initiative and develop an Action Plan to address the challenges of the countries in the region and to reduce the impact of climate change through scientific practices, in line with its Agreement. Paris.
He added that the scientific part of the Initiative has been assigned to the Cyprus Institute, noting that regional action groups have been set up to study and research energy systems, water resources, the marine environment and others.
He also pointed out that the Cyprus Initiative has secured support from a number of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern heads of state, as well as from international organizations and the European Commission.
Dr. Papanikolas said that the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East is characterized as one of the epicenters of the climate crisis, with consequences that will be presented in an even more intense way, such as heat waves, lack of water resources, the collapse of agriculture, migration flows and other phenomena.
He added that the affected countries in the region are Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and Yemen.
Dr. Papanikolas stressed that the situation is bad and deteriorating, noting that if these rates continue then there will be a collapse without reversal and the possibility of adjustment.
Source: KYPE
