Cyprus President arrives in Glasgow to participate in the UN Summit on Climate Change (Update)

President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, arrived on Sunday in Glasgow, where he will participate in the UN Summit on Climate Change (COP26), hosted by the United Kingdom.

According to a press release issued by the Presidency, during the Summit,  Anastasiades will refer to the positions of the Republic of Cyprus on the issue of climate change and to explain his initiative to address the effects of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The President of the Republic is accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Costas Kadis, Government Spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, the High Commissioner of the Republic to the United Kingdom, Andreas Kakouris, the Advisor to the President of the Republic on Climate Change, Costas Papanicolas, and the Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President, Koula Sofianou.

On November 2, on the sidelines of the Summit, the ministry of agriculture will hold an event, on the occasion of the Mediterranean Day, in collaboration with the EU Secretariat for the Mediterranean, the Network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change and the Clima-Med Project, entitled “Mediterranean Climate Action”. The event will be attended by the Cypriot President and addressed by Kadis.

During the Summit, the President of the Republic will participate in a series of discussions and events, including an event on combating methane use, co-organized by the US Presidency and the European Commission, headed by the US President, Joe Biden and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The event will take place on November 2.

The COP26, will look into ways to reduce emissions by 2030, by accelerating the reduction of coal use, tackling deforestation, the use of electric vehicles and encouraging investment in renewables.

The aim of the parties to the Paris Agreement, which are participating in the Summit, is to protect and restore ecosystems and to create infrastructure for the protection of the environment. Under the Paris Agreement, 195 countries agreed to submit nationally defined contributions (NDCs), which represent their individual emission reduction targets. Collectively, these NDCs should help keep the average global temperature change below 2 ° C and as close as possible to 1.5 ° C by the end of the century.

The strategic role of the Republic of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East region was underlined during a recent two-day international conference held in Paphos, Cyprus, entitled “Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East”.