Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, have both addressed the delegates of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) currently taking place in Glasgow.
‘A regional hub for green energy’:
During his address, Mitsotakis said Greece can make a significant contribution in tackling the climate crisis and help in the green transition, despite its small carbon footprint.
The Prime Minister outlined six key areas where this can be done, including the Greek government’s green transition program and the actions being planned, such as phasing out coal and increasing the share of renewable energy sources through offshore wind parks and measures for “green” shipping.
He also emphasised plans to convert Greece into “a regional hub for green energy” for Europe based on the recent agreement with Egypt and talks that are underway with Saudi Arabia.
In conclusion, Mitsotakis told the UN climate conference: “We have reached a stage where there is no more room for petty politics.”
“Our children and the generations to come will not forgive us if we fail to coordinate and address this existential thread for humanity. Starting today, I firmly believe that we can live up to this challenge,” he said.
$2 billion funding pledge to UN climate summit:
Australia has made a $2 billion pledge to the United Nations climate summit in a promise to do its part to limit the rise in global temperatures.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the higher spending in a formal statement that also said Australian emissions will fall by 35 percent by 2030.
The finance pledge was the only new measure in Morrison’s national statement to the meeting after he announced $500 million earlier in the day for aid programs in Asia and the Pacific to make communities more resilient against climate change.
After meeting with Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr, Mr Morrison said there was “no greater threat to our Pacific family, to the blue economy, than climate change.”
“We’re not putting this (climate finance) through other worldwide institutions or other groups like this, we are doing this direct because we want to make sure that the climate finance investments that Australians are making are being invested in our backyard among our Pacific Islands family and among our South East Asian partners and friends,” Mr Morrison said.
