Cyprus will pay dearly if it fails to cut emissions

CYPRUS will have to pay heavy penalties if it does not cut its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the next few years, a lawmaker warned yesterday.

Green deputy Giorgos Perdikis told the House Environment Committee that Cyprus would not achieve any goals if immediate and drastic measures were not taken.

“Heavy penalties await Cyprus in such an event,” Perdikis said. “The laws are there, the strategies are there, what is missing is the political will for their enforcement.”

Under European Union rules, Cyprus is obliged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 23 per cent by 2012 in order to avoid heavy fines imposed by the EU.

Environment Service official Theodoulos Mesimeris said the strategic plan was directly linked to development strategies.

If the current development model continues then there will be a big increase in emissions, Mesimeris told the committee.

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou struck a note of caution over the effectiveness of renewable energy plans.

“We are doing well with plans. The issue is to proceed with their implementation,” Theopemptou said.

The EU has set a target for six per cent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2010.

Though it is not a binding goal, the use of renewable resources in Cyprus is barely above zero.

However, Cyprus is second in the EU in per capita consumption of oil, behind Luxembourg.

To avoid the heavy EU fines or costly purchase of extra emissions from other countries, the House Environment Committee decided to propose the creation of a co-ordinating body to oversee the implementation of the strategic plan for cutting emissions.

The co-ordinator will have to prepare an annual report that will be presented in parliament.

Where there is no progress an action plan will be immediately drafted.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.