Athens, 3 December 2021

Climate change main topic of 7th Summit of Speakers of Parliamentary Assembly of Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM)

The 7th Summit of Speakers of Parliaments of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) was held today in a hybrid format. The Summit was organised by the European Parliament and attended by representatives of Parliaments of the EU and the Mediterranean South. The Hellenic Parliament was represented by the 3rd Vice-President of the Parliament Athanassios Bouras. 

During the Summit a Joint Declaration was adopted on the issue of the Fight against Climate Change in the Mediterranean Region. in his speech, Mr Bouras stressed the need for governments and the public to realise the urgent need to address the impact of climate change. Referring to the policies in Greece, fully aligned with the requirements of the European Green Deal, the Vice-President of the Parliament pointed out that the national climate law seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to accelerate climate neutrality, while the country is proceeding swiftly with the phasing out of lignite-based power generation. He also stresed that a big part of the budget of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is earmarked for the green transition. He also referred to the Greek initiative GR-eco Islands, which aims to promote a comprehensive green transition of smaller islands and make tourism "green" overall. 

Mr Bouras underlined that bold changes are called for, ambitious policies and especially the cooperation of the international community in order to achieve the mitigation of climate change impact. He noted that Greece is in favour of an ambitious policy towards climate change, both at national level, as well as through international initiatives and multilateral synergies and he praised the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, an important forum for dialogue and for strengthening regional cooperation. 

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