Day: November 23, 2022

Two Cypriot projects, focused on adapting agriculture to the effects of climate change and on the development of tools for smart buildings, are included in the 168 new projects selected to receive a total of more than 380 million euros in funding under the LIFE Programme for the environment and climate action.

The two projects are a programme to help agriculture adapt to a changing climate (LIFE AgrOassis) which will receive 1.394 million euro from the EU out of a 2.327 million euro budget, and a programme to develop smart tools for smart buildings (SMART SQUARE) which will receive 1.945 million euro from the EU out of a 2.047 million euro budget.

AgrOassis will cover the agricultural sector in Cyprus and Greece and will focus on the develop, demonstration and promotion of innovative techniques and approaches to reduce the risks associated with desertification, inappropriate land use and wildfires.

The partners participating in the programme will also implement measures to regenerate ecosystem services and restore biodiversity through the afforestation of degraded field margins and aiding pollinators.

The project team for SMART SQUARE will develop tools for increasing the smartness of buildings (Smart²) based on the EU Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) scheme.

They will deliver a cloud-based open platform for assessing buildings to identify cost-effective smart building improvements, an SRI observatory to monitor progress, and an SRI audit process to foster standardisation.

Real-time data will also be used to resolve interoperability and cybersecurity issues.

LIFE projects are at central to the European Green Deal and can help the EU become climate-neutral by 2050 and reach climate, energy and environmental goals. They support biodiversity, nature restoration and a circular economy while contributing to the clean energy transition across the continent.

The funding is a 27% increase on last year’s funding, and will mobilise a total investment of over €562 million.

Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from this EU funding in four themes (sub-programmes): nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the clean energy transition.

“The climate crisis has severe effects on nature and ecosystems. Extreme heat, droughts, and floods can damage nature and hamper its ability to shield us from the worst impacts of climate change”, Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal said in a statement.

“It is why, at COP27, countries emphasized the importance of protecting and restoring nature. LIFE projects make it possible to move from ambition to action, boosting decarbonization and bringing real change on the ground”, he added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, expressed on Wednesday his support to a Cyprus settlement providing for a bizonal, bicommunal federation, noting that Berlin will do its utmost for the resumption of the dialogue on the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the international law.

He was speaking during a joint press conference in Berlin with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, after the talks they had. Both Anastasiades and Scholz agreed to have closer cooperation on the energy field and on the migration issue.

As regards the Cyprus problem, President Anastasiades made clear that “there is no possibility of a solution on the basis of what Turkey unreasonably and contrary to the international law demands for a two-state solution.”

Anastasiades called on Turkey to change its stance as “the protracted tension will worsen the relations between Turkey and the EU, by insisting to a solution that will not be based on the UN resolutions. The only thing that Turkey will achieve is its exclusion,” he added.

On his part, Chancellor Scholz underlined that “the relationship of the Republic of Cyprus with Turkey is important and problems need to be solved through dialogue, on the basis of the international law.”

Moreover he noted the very good opportunities of cooperation in the field of energy, adding that “my impression is that Cyprus is willing to contribute towards this direction and we hope that other countries will do so as well.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Turkey should move towards de-escalation, Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou has said, noting that international law should finally prevail.

Speaking at an event in Athens, Photiou noted the need to remain united against “the frenzy of Turkish provocations, as demonstrated lately with the escalation of Turkey’s intransigence in the Cyprus issue and its threats regarding our sovereign rights in our maritime areas and in the Aegean islands, rights that are based on international law and are non-negotiable.”

What concerns us, he added, is the revisionist attitude of the Turkish leadership and the escalation of its hostile rhetoric at a time when the international community is watching with deep concern the developments with Russia’s military invasion on the territory of Ukraine.

“International law cannot be applied differently in one case and differently in another. Both Russia and Turkey have invaded the territories of other countries and still illegally occupy parts of their territories. In both cases it is a matter of invasion, illegal occupation and violation of fundamental principles of international law, such as the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states” he stressed.

Photiou noted that Turkey should proceed with de-escalation actions, adding that international law should finally prevail.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency