Press Releases

It is with great honour and pleasure that I welcome on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus the world-renowned Professor of economics Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Professor Sachs’ lecture is of interest to all modern societies that encounter difficulties to balance economic growth along with the welfare of citizens and the protection of the environment.

Climate change, diseases, loss of biodiversity, water pollution and desertification are phenomena to be faced by today's generation and therefore measures and actions for sustainable development and environmental protection are imperative.

It’s time to prevent environment degradation, climate change and stop compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by looking at the world from a different perspective and trying to find ways to balance economic growth, environment protection and people’s well-being.  

Our guide to achieve this balance is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. At its core are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which should be implemented by all countries, both rich and poor, based on solidarity, mutual accountability and shared responsibility, so that no one is left behind.

Cyprus supports and is committed to the new Global Partnership, addressing all three dimensions of sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals should be incorporated into government programs of all countries of the world. Cyprus takes pride in its success in achieving a number of targets at a 100% level, many of them in the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 3 regarding Good Health and Well Being. Best practices include the provision of free and easily accessible education to everyone at all education levels, without discrimination, addressing the challenge of Cyprus’ limited water resources and supplying excellent quality of drinking water to consumers, as well as the efforts made towards combating human trafficking, by effectively enforcing new legislation and expanding the role and competences of the Police Anti-Trafficking Bureau. On the international sphere, Cyprus actively promotes international cooperation on issues such as the protection of cultural property and regional cooperation for the protection from marine pollution. Concerning progress foreseen, there has been an upward trend in the use of renewable sources of energy, while steps are being taken towards a more sustainable tourism product.

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is the goal to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts which is particularly important for Cyprus.

Cyprus is optimistic that by developing and implementing the appropriate policies and measures that have already been decided, will achieve the long-term objective set in the Paris Agreement of maintaining global warming at levels well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Cyprus is located in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region which according to most studies including the recent study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and classified as one of the global “hotspots”. All the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region expressed their concern about the impact of climate change on the region and their willingness to comply with Paris Agreement.

Towards this end and following the International Conference on “Climate Change in the Mediterranean and the Middle East” in Cyprus organized in May 2018 by The Cyprus Institute, the President of the Republic of Cyprus expressed his vision for Cyprus to undertake an international initiative and assume a coordinating role in the efforts of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region to ameliorate climate change and its impacts.

The idea is that Cyprus could promote coordination and cooperation between the countries of the region so that an Action Plan is developed for recording and mitigating climate change impacts on sectors like Environment, Agriculture, Tourism, Health, in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East countries. This initiative will be fed by multi- and cross-disciplinary on-going research on societal challenges requiring regional and local solutions. It will develop an inclusive “dialogue forum”- a platform where national and regional stakeholders can discuss science-based practical solutions to challenges related to climate change.

The initiative could feed the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region with environmental observations and predictions that are critically limited but required to assess the extent of the rapid warming and drying conditions as well as better supporting national policies for meeting CO2 emission pledges to the Paris Agreement.

At this point I would like to take this opportunity to express my warm thanks to the host of this event, The Cyprus Institute, an international science and technology organization, which supports scientifically President’s Anastasiades initiative and its important work that strengthens the research community of Cyprus, helps transforms its economy to a knowledge-based economy and creates a research hub for the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Dear guests,

I am sure that today’s lecture by Professor Sachs will broaden our thinking and understanding in such a way that we can enrich our vision and strategies for the benefit of our society and future generations.

May I wish the event a great success and all of you a fruitful and inspirational experience.

(MAK)