Cyprus seeking carbon neutrality by 2050

Half of carbon emissions in Cyprus comes from transport, whereas the same industry represents a quarter of emissions in the EU, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said on Monday.

He added that among the island’s environmental targets is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Karousos was speaking at a tree planting event of the road transport department at the Kofinou weighing station, which was seen as a way to establish environmental awareness at the ministry.

The transport ministry has “a burden of responsibility” to achieve the environmental targets, the minister said.

“A series of actions are taking place so that we change the culture in the ministry and its services, which are the ones that will work hard to achieve these goals.”

Within this framework, he said, many actions are being organised, including Monday’s “symbolic” tree planting, which aims “to pass a message throughout the ministry, down to the last worker and employee of the ministry, about what is coming to the ministry and to promote environmental awareness within the ministry”.