Joumanna Bercetche: Well, it is day three of the COP29 Climate Conference here in Baku, Azerbaijan. As world leaders discuss new ways to finance the climate change challenge, Donald Trump’s return to the White House remains a topic of discussion. Joining me right now is Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It’s wonderful to have you with us, Mr. Prime Minister.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Good morning. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much.
Joumanna Bercetche: I’ve been here a couple of days now, and I’ve had talks with several people, from policymakers to some of the big leaders. I’ve got to say it’s difficult not to feel a little bit disheartened if you look at the state and the direction of travel. Many agencies are warning that this is going to be the warmest year on record. We continue to see the effects of climate change wreaking disaster and havoc around the continent, even in Europe. What is your feeling of where we are in climate’s ambitions versus where we need to get to?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I’ve been coming to these gatherings for many years now, and there seems to be a repeating pattern of ambitious targets and expectations which eventually are not met. On the other hand, if you look at Europe, important changes are being made towards the energy transition, but we all understand that these changes need to be accelerated.
I come from a Mediterranean country, and the Mediterranean is a hot bed for climate change. You saw what happened in Spain. We had similar floods, thank God, with less loss of human life last year in Greece. My concern is that as much as we focus on long-term mitigation, and Greece is certainly doing its part, we need to place more emphasis on short-term adaptation and helping our people cope with climate disasters, which we know will happen with increased frequency.
When we think about funding, this is not just about helping the poorer countries with their energy transition. It is also helping more mature economies dealing with the impact of climate change today, which makes the whole debate even more complicated.
Joumanna Bercetche: Absolutely. But let me just ask you a Greece-specific question. Last year, we’ve seen many wildfires, there are droughts as well. I wonder if Greece has to put in a national strategy to deal with, say, adequate water supply in the years ahead. Is that something that you’re thinking about?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: First of all, when you look at the headline numbers, no European country has brought down its emissions faster since 2005 than Greece. We produce more than 50% of our electricity from renewables, and this will go up to 80% within the next 5-6 years. So we’re certainly doing our part in terms of making the energy transition work for Greece.
At the same time, we understand that we need to focus more on adaptation. We’re spending more than 2 billion euros on civil protection Our number one obligation is to protect human lives when a catastrophic climate event strikes.
But of course, managing our water supply is going to become a critical priority for the foreseeable future. We know we’re faced with extreme weather events and with drought. We have a very ambitious plan to make sure that we use our water supplies with a maximum amount of efficiency.
For us in Greece, the climate crisis is already here. That is why I’m also advocating at the European level to devote more funds and cooperation to the question of adaptation. The Mediterranean countries will play a leading role in this initiative going forward as we talk about our European financing envelope for climate.
Joumanna Bercetche: One of the conversation topics looming large here, again, in a climate conference is the return of President Trump to the White House. The US for the last couple of years have gained a lot of credibility on the climate front. There is a concern that some of that US leadership may fall to the wayside, given that President Trump’s own stance is a bit more sceptical towards many of these climate ambitions and the climate agenda. Who do you think will pick up the helm? Is it going to be Europe leading the charge forward on climate discussions or is it going to be China?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, first of all, let’s see what President Trump will actually do. I do hope that we won’t see a repeat of the US leaving the Paris Agreement. Two quick points. First of all, Europe is leading on the climate transition, but we account for 6% of global emissions, so we clearly cannot do this on our own. But we do understand that focusing on clean tech, also from a perspective of strategic autonomy, is going to be particularly important for Europe. We do intend to dedicate significant funds towards that direction.
When I look at the US, there’s national policy, but there’s also a clean tech revolution taking place in the US, financed primarily by private capital. The US being a very innovative economy. I do expect that many innovative solutions which will help us address the climate crisis will still come from the US.
Joumanna Bercetche: I was reading that you actually have had a call with the President-elect, Trump. Can you give us any insight into, not specifically what was discussed, but what you were expecting in his second term vis-a-vis relations with Europe.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, I had a very friendly call with President Trump. I’m a relatively experienced leader, so I had an opportunity to work with him during his first mandate. Of course, I stress the importance of the Greek-US relations. Greece is a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. We’ve worked very closely with the US, and I do expect this relationship to continue.
When I look at what’s happening in the US from Europe’s point of view, I think it emphasises the need to work very hard to support our strategic autonomy and to make sure that the European economy becomes more competitive. Flip back to what Draghi told us in his report, we discussed this at the last European Council, I think it is time to move from words to actions.
We have a very clear list of deliverables in terms of how we can make Europe more competitive. I think there was already a sense of urgency that we’re lagging behind even before the election of of President Trump to the White House. I think we will address this question with a renewed sense of urgency now.
Joumanna Bercetche: What if President Trump starts applying tariffs on European goods? Will there be an incentive for Europe to retaliate? Then you enter into this tit for tat trade war?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I’m a big believer in free trade, and I don’t believe in tariffs in principle, and I think that a trade war would be bad both for the US and for Europe. I do think there is a possibility on the US-European relationship to work with President Trump to find a win-win solution.
For example, Europe will be looking to import more liquefied natural gas from the US. I’m talking about LNG because we understand that in the interim, until renewables hit their full potential, we will need natural gas for the foreseeable future. That will certainly help us in terms of our trade balance with the US.
I think there are ways to discuss with the US administration and to find a win-win solution. I’m a big believer in the transatlantic partnership. I think when we look at the big global challenges that the world is facing, we need to continue to work strongly with the US to address those challenges.
Joumanna Bercetche: One thing that I do question is Trump’s approach to multilateral frameworks. We know from his first term that he preferred a bilateral approach with leaders around the world. What does that do to Europe’s collective standing and stance vis-a-vis approaching some of these relationships? Specifically, when you talk about trade and when you talk about defence, is Europe going to be unified?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I think it’s a good question. I think we all have bilateral relations with the US, Greece certainly has one. We have a defence cooperation agreement because defence is a national prerogative. But when it comes to trade, I do need to point out that this is a competence of the European Commission, and we will negotiate with the US as a European Union. Of course, we have much more leverage in doing so. I think you will see a combination of us strengthening our bilateral ties, but also speaking with one voice when it comes to Europe.
The challenge for Europe is to, first of all, get to the point where we speak with one voice on these issues. But again, as I told you, there is a renewed sense of urgency in terms of focusing on European competitiveness. We have a European Commission that is very much committed in moving towards that direction. I’m cautiously optimistic that we will be to deliver on our agenda.
Joumanna Bercetche: Let me just end on a Greece-specific question on the economy. Greece actually has been growing much faster than other economies in Europe for the last couple of years. The core European countries are struggling. Periphery countries are actually doing much better. Do you see Greece’s economy as being able to continue and sustain the momentum that’s in place already?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I don’t think many people would have placed their bets five or six years ago that Greece would be a country with very stable public finances, growing much faster than the Eurozone, bringing down our debt at a very, very fast pace, attracting investment, creating new jobs.
Yes, I’m very optimistic about the Greek economy in the short to medium term. We have three more years in our term. We have a stable government that is able to deliver on reforms. We continue to bring in investment. We had a record year when it comes to tourism. We’re investing a lot in cutting-edge sectors, including tech.
I think we have a very good growth story which is certainly attracting the interest of the international financial community. I do expect Greek growth to continue to deliver.
My number one focus is on making sure that we converge with Europe at a fast pace and we make up for the lost ground of the last decade. Of course, bringing up our wages and addressing the cost of living crisis is my number one priority these days.
Joumanna Bercetche: Fantastic. Prime Minister, thank you so much for speaking with us. That was the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
