The Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Nicos Kouyialis, participated in the Informal Meeting of Ministers for the Environment of the EU, which was held today in Athens. During the Meeting, the EU Ministers had the chance to discuss issues with respect to the protection of marine environment, blue growth, as well as climate change, and the new EU 2030 climate and energy policy framework in particular.
Mr Kouyialis said that the inclusion of the objectives of marine environment protection in socio-economic activities and other European policies will assist in the sustainable management of marine resources. Blue growth and activities in the energy, nautical tourism and aquaculture sectors in particular, should be consistent with these objectives and work within the sustainable limits of the marine environment. He also noted that no country alone can deal with the effects of potential pollution, particularly in relation to hydrocarbon extraction activities. For this reason, the Minister stressed, Cyprus, Greece and Israel have decided, in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting yesterday, to sign an agreement on the protection of the marine environment by June.
On the issue of climate change and the new EU 2030 climate and energy policy framework, the Agriculture Minister said that it is very important for the EU to come to a decision as regards its stance, in view of the upcoming international negotiations. He noted that Cyprus agrees to set a binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the EU level, adding, however, that target allocation among member states should necessarily take into account the particularities and individual market conditions of each member state.
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