PAM award recognises CyI for climate crisis work

The Cyprus Institute (CyI) was among the winners of a Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Award, bestowed in recognition of CyI’s research and educational activities in addressing the climate crisis and advancing mitigation actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region.

CyI President, Prof. Stavros Malas accepted the award at the 2024 Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Award Ceremony, held on May 15, 2024 in Braga, Portugal, during the 18th PAM Plenary Session.

In his acceptance speech, Prof. Malas thanked the President and Members of PAM, saying the distinction was the result of Cyprus Institute researchers’ hard work, who, in collaboration with worldwide peers, and under the guidance of former CyI President, Prof. Costas Papanicolas, drafted the Regional Action Plan to address the impacts of climate change in the EMME countries.

Prof. Malas emphasised that the countries in the EMME region need to invest much more in research and innovation to address the impacts of the climate crisis, as these will continue to exist for hundreds of years, even if humanity achieves the goals set for climate neutrality.

The Regional Action Plan is an initiative of the Republic of Cyprus that commenced in 2019 and was presented at the COP27 Summit, held on November 8, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. At the Summit, 10 EMME region countries declared the official launch of the Climate Change Initiative. The Declaration was adopted by Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, and the State of Palestine.

The next steps will be discussed at the International Conference on the Climate Crisis in the EMME region, co-organised by The Cyprus Institute with the Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts, over September 26-28, 2024, in Larnaca. The Conference, under the auspices of President Nikos Christodoulides, will be attended by experts in research and policy on the climate crisis from around the world.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is an international organization, bringing together 34-member parliaments from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions to discuss and face critical issues, such as regional conflicts, security and counter-terrorism, humanitarian crises, economic integration, climate change, mass migrations, education, human rights, and inter-faith dialogue.

President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou, originally submitted CyI’s nomination in a letter to PAM in 2023, following a proposal by the Cypriot delegation to the Assembly consisting of MPs Andreas Pasiourtides, Rita Theodorou-Superman, Christos Orphanidis and Charalambos Theopemptou.

In announcing the Award in March 2023, House President Demetriou highlighted that the honours are given every year to personalities and organisations from the political, economic, social, cultural, scientific, sporting, journalism and artistic communities, whose contributions establish bridges among the peoples of the region, so as to foster understanding, mutual respect, socio-economic cooperation, political dialogue, confidence-building and conflict resolution.