Press Conference of the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou on the Environment 2021

 

15th May 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

Global warming, climate change, hurricanes in the Philippines, floods in Indonesia and raging fires in Australia. From the deadly COVID-19 virus that still plagues humanity to forest fires, 2020 has certainly been the year that scientists have been warning us about for years. Natural disasters over the last year have caused thousands of deaths and tens of billions of dollars in losses.

Climate change is knocking on our door. The phenomenon of desertification has spread, whilst floods and droughts are commonplace. Numerous scientific studies show that climate change combined with other environmental disturbances will facilitate the development of more completely new, infectious strains such as COVID-19.

The World Health Organization also states that the patterns of transmission of infectious diseases will change as a result of climate change. Over the past decade, even Central Banks have recognized the systemic risk of climate change in the global economy.

The current crisis makes reflection imperative about the relationship between humans and nature, the risks associated with the current economic growth path and how we can best protect ourselves in the future.

The protection and preservation of nature, as well as the benefits it provides, are indispensable in order to maintain our health and well-being. In confronting the worrying effects of the coronavirus crisis, we must also take into account the ongoing natural and climatic crises that threaten our future and find ways to protect and restore it.

The Anastasiades-DISY Government is doing just the opposite. Villas constructed in protected areas, rampant construction for the granting of passports, destruction of the habitats of protected species, the attempt to turn AKAMAS into a park with the possibility of large developments and floating restaurants are just some examples of the government’s anti-environmental policy.

Within this context, AKEL, through the actions and proposals it is submitting before society, is seeking to improve the quality of life of every citizen always in line with the environment.

AKEL’s proposal encompasses the restoration of the ecosystem, the protection of the environment and environmental and social justice in three areas.

A necessary condition for achieving the above goal is the creation of structures that will serve the public and protect the environment. These structures will be identified in:

• The creation of a sustainable, accessible, and comprehensive transport system based on the principle that transport is a public service
• In the development of Renewable Energy Sources with cooperative parks of Municipalities and communities, but also directly by households
• In the review and improvement of the legislation on protected areas, from the National Parks (AKAMAS) to the local nature reserves and the urban green spaces.

If there is any hope for the world, it is not in the conferences convened on climate change, but in the daily struggle to improve living conditions. The struggle for the protection of the environment cannot and is not separate from the struggle for social justice. We have an obligation to build a world where we will all be safe. We have to change the world and we will not stop until we succeed.