The ambassadors of the new movement, guided from Terra Cypria officers, have started a round of meetings with Members of the Parliament from all political parties.
The aim of the meetings is to give ambassadors the chance to share their concerns and ask questions regarding the insufficient climate action undertaken in Cyprus.
Up until today, they have visited 3 political parties, DISI, DIPA and AKEL.
First stop was DISI, where the president of the party mr. Averof Neophytou met face to face with the well-informed movement representatives. Mr. Neophytou talked about a Cyprus of the future which will be carbon-neutral and a champion in green development. He agreed on the need to develop renewable energy infrastructure which will contribute to the reduction of emissions, reduce energy bills prices and to promote green transport in cities.
He also admitted that the State is failing in setting high and ambitious climate goals and stressed the importance of bold political decisions in achieving them.
The second meeting took place at the premises of DIPA, where the vice-president of the party mr. Giannos Lakkotripis and his team listened to the concerns of the youth and stressed that climate change should be tackled through the collaboration of generations and that youth should be involved in the dialogue. At the end of the meeting, they admitted that the State and the political system needs more time to respond to today’s challenges. Finally, it was stated that the gap between theory and action regarding the green transition must be reduced.
Finally, an ambassador visited AKEL, where they met with mr. George Loukaides, mr. Nikos Kettiros and other associates. The Members of Parliament admitted that Cyprus evidently does not give enough attention to the issue of climate change. They told the ambassador that there is a need for increased involvement of society to the issue and stressed the importance of the contribution of youth in raising the awareness of people that have an impact on our planet. They also stressed that energy efficiency, public transport and renewables must be developed following a holistic planning. Regarding the use of fossil gas, it was mentioned that “The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum’’ should be renamed into “Eastern Mediterranean Energy Forum”. This wider term could create better conditions to promote renewable projects in the area, leading us faster into the green transition.
The Generation KlimACT movement is working hard to get answers on the very important question of “why is Cypriot society so slow in making the green transition?” and to pressurize and demand more action for a better future.
Stay tuned because there will be more meetings with MPs and political parties.