Speech of Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL, to the event organized by AKEL’s Environment Bureau on World Environment Day
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 6th June 2016, Pallouriotisa Old Market, Nicosia
On my part, I would like to welcome you all to today’s event organized the Environment Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL. Our event reflects our Party’s long-standing interest and involvement in environmental and ecological issues. It is a practical attempt to convey the real situation to the people and at the same time to develop a political dialogue with citizens on these matters.
Environmental and ecology issues are increasingly attracting the attention, but also the anxiety of the whole planet, given that they are threatening the quality of life in every corner of the earth. The dramatic climate change and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena, the rising temperatures around the planet and rising sea levels due to melting ice in the poles, are constantly sending out their own danger signals. Water scarcity and deforestation, the pollution of the air, soil and seas, expanding deserts and many other phenomena make up the macabre list of environmental problems, which is becoming increasingly longer.
The fact that one cannot refer to the environment and the need to protect it, without simultaneously also demanding an end to neoliberal policies that lead to even greater tensions, conflicts, gaps and disasters both on the environment and societies, is undeniable . Nobody can speak about the environment without at the same time demanding an improvement in the living conditions of the poor.
Our proposal to society refers to an alternative economy where the basic criterion is not the drive to serve the profitability of capital, but rather society’s social benefit and the need to keep an ecological balance. With this proposal, the peoples develop a higher level of self-consciousness, where people’s quality of life is not identified with over-consumption and the accumulation of wealth. This is a radical proposal that has as its main objective the transition to another era as soon as possible, because it’s everyone’s conclusion that the impact caused by the capitalist system on the environment is immense. Poverty, climate change, the destruction of biodiversity and a host of other challenges for the whole of humanity can only be combated and addressed through radical decisions and solutions.
How can this goal be fulfilled?
Modern environmental protection should seek the assumption of measures for the preservation of the environment, so as to ensure a better quality of life, sustainability is realized and at the same time economic growth is achieved. The urgent need, in any case, is to achieve the productive result through the management and direction of the means of production, based on the principle of sustainability. Environmental protection does not mean setting aside economic activity, it doesn’t mean halting human development.
For AKEL, people’s prosperity in a society of equality, the preservation of natural resources and the performance of the necessary respect for all life forms on the planet, within the framework of a sustainable ecological balance is a key priority. This is the crucial difference in AKEL’s positions from those nice-sounding interpretations of the term, which whether consciously or unconsciously, do ignore the root cause of the problem and which limit themselves to individualistic-activist type approaches.
Dear friends,
Many people say that growth cannot be in line with the protection of the environment. For AKEL this is not the case. For us development is not just economic, but also social and cultural. It means quality of life. It means not only protection, but the improvement and development of the environment in all areas.
The challenge before us is to reconcile economic reality with social values and ethics in order to create a balanced and environmentally-friendly economy.
The systemic crisis in food, fuel and the economy, which began in 2008 and is still continuing today, has its roots in an economic model that has yet to interpret the value of the natural environment in our daily lives. Therefore, the profound failure of international markets in areas such as emissions trading, are accelerating the huge environmental dangers and undermining human prosperity.
Climate change has never been treated as a crisis by the leaders of powerful countries, despite the fact that it includes the danger of destroying life on a greater scale than the collapse of the banks. The cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, which according to scientists are necessary in order to significantly reduce the danger of a catastrophe, are considered as actions that can be postponed, pretty much indefinitely. Clearly, what is characterized as a crisis is an expression of the power and priorities of powerful states.
We must not remain spectators in the face of all these issues, waiting for the leaders to decide that climate change is a crisis worthy of a “Marshall Plan-type for the Earth.” We must demand a real plan to save the planet, and demand the response of the rich countries and the EU, both with regards the allocation of resources in this direction, but mainly the dampening of the free market rules – rules which have proved to be so flexible and weak when the interests of the elite are threatened.
To do this takes a great deal of pressure and the mobilization of both society itself and citizens alike. The Left must not only be involved in this struggle, but it must be at the forefront, leading by example. This is what our ideology, values and ideals demand.
I congratulate the Environment Bureau of the C.C. of for organizing this modest event. At the same time permit me to also congratulate those receiving awards this evening
