Thank you, Pedro Sánchez, for putting together such an excellent conference in such a short time and for helping Chile.
I attended my first COP conference in 2007, in Bali, Indonesia, as president of the Committee on the Environment of the Greek Parliament. Twelve years after, it is clear that some progress has been made, but in no way have we done enough to meet this challenge.
We all know that decarbonizing to the extent necessary to curb climate change will require a complete overhaul of our economies.
This is a momentous challenge but also a tremendous opportunity.
Fighting climate change is also the most complicated collective action problem our global community has ever faced.
Change by the people who are most alarmed will not be enough. What is also needed is change in the lives those who do not yet care enough.
Three-quarters of all emissions come from just 12 countries. And if I’m not mistaken Mr President, none of them are represented at our table today. Greece is clearly not one of them. But we are assuming our fair share of responsibility by proposing a radical overhaul of our economic model.
We fully support the ambitious goals set by the European Union to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but for us the protection of the unique land, marine and also cultural and natural environment is a comparative advantage.
We have finalized the revised National Energy and Climate Plan. The highlight of the plan is our decision to close down all our lignite fire power plants the latest by 2028. It is a difficult decision because we are a lignite-producing country, but at the same time we want to increase the penetration of renewables by up to 60% within of the next decade. As the Prime Minister of Portugal noted, renewables, especially in southern Europe, have become much cheaper today than traditional sources of energy. And southern Europe has the potential to become a large scale battery for the whole continent.
The era of dirty coal is clearly over and we are encouraging other European countries that also rely heavily on coal to set equally ambitious targets. And we expect the European Commission to support the just transition of our lignite mining areas, providing adequate funding to countries that meet the challenges.
In Greece, we believe that these initiatives alone can mobilize investments that will exceed 40 billion euros over the next decade. After all, we must not forget that it is the forces of the market economy, responding to proper incentives, that can transform the machinery of our modes of production.
We hope that Greece, until recently stigmatized by its deep economic crisis can be a paradigm for how Energy Transition and Climate action can inspire hope to the new generation and create green jobs and sustainable growth.
On last word. Climate change does not just affect our coasts and our forests but also our unique cultural heritage. And while trees can be replanted, the loss of our cultural heritage is irreplaceable.
We intend to convene a high level conference in Athens next year to highlight this issue, which is frequently lost in the grand debate around climate change.
Under the shadow of the Acropolis, let us make sure that what withstood the test of time will not destroyed by the folly of man.
Thank you.
