Campaign aims for 10,000 planted trees and clean beaches

With the aim of planting 10,000 thousand trees in fire-affected areas of Cyprus, as well as cleaning beaches, promoting cycling, and raising public awareness of the green transition and movement, the eight-month-long campaign ‘Ride to Green’ was launched on Friday under the auspices of the deputy minister for shipping Marina Hadjimanoli.

The campaign, organised by the companies nextbike TIER Cyprus and the Green Energy group “embraces the values ​​of the green transition, sustainable mobility and caring for the environment”, the minister said at a news conference in Limassol.

She said that during the campaign, the public would have the opportunity to be informed both by experts dealing with the environment and the green transition, and to participate in actions such as cycling, cleaning beaches, and tree planting. “The goal is to plant up to 10,000 trees in fire-affected areas,” she added.

Welcoming the initiative, Limassol Mayor Nikos Nicolaidis said that the municipality had an ambitious programme in mind “so that we can proceed on the basis of a sustainable approach”. He reminded that Limassol was part of the EU programme to have 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.

In this context, he added, projects were being planned, pending EU financing approval, citing as an example “a grandiose project on municipal land in Limassol and Polemidia, for the installation of a 23MW capacity photovoltaic park, one of the largest in Cyprus”.

“Through this project, he explained, it will be possible for citizens who cannot install photovoltaics on their properties and through a joint-stock, cooperative approach will be able to benefit from reducing the cost of electricity consumption.”

The cycling initiative was also a top priority for the municipality, he said, with a planned network of cycle lanes around the city centre that would encompass 35km of pathways. Other areas would be deemed 30-km zones for cars to also facilitate cycling, the mayor said.

The director of nextbike by TIER Cyprus, Neophytos Ioannou, said that the ‘Ride to Green’ campaign aimed to promote a cycling culture and to inform and raise awareness among the public about the green transition and movement.

The COO of the Green Energy group, Charalambos Kyriakou, said the adoption of a green culture was not an easy path. “However, its long-term results can upgrade the quality of life of citizens and be a springboard for strengthening green economy of the country,” he added.