Day: January 30, 2023

The Department of Meteorology on Monday issued a yellow warning for local showers and isolated thunderstorms.

It said in a press release that the warning is in effect from 11am Monday until 1800 this evening.

Local showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to affect the area. “In storms precipitation rates are likely to range between 35-50 millimeters per hour”, it added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In absolute terms, the production of electricity from renewable energy sources in the European Union increased by almost 5% from 2020 to 2021 according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

However, gross electricity consumption also increased mainly due to economic recovery after lifting COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption in the EU only increased by 0.1 percentage points (pp), from 37.4% in 2020 to 37.5% in 2021.

In Cyprus, the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption in 2021 was the fifth smallest in the EU (14.8%).

It must be noted though that the share of renewables in Cyprus increased compared to 2020 (12.0%).

The share of renewables in Cyprus has been increasing continuously over the past 20 years, starting from 0.019 in 2004 and rising gradually to 1.4% by 2010, increasing again to 3.4% in 2011 and reaching 8.4% by 2015. In 2019 the share reached 9.8% before increasing again in 2020 to 12.0%.

On an EU level, wind and hydropower accounted for over two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (37% and 32%, respectively). The remaining one-third of electricity came from solar power (15%), solid biofuels (7%) and other renewable sources (8%).

Solar power is the fastest-growing source; in 2008, it only accounted for 1% of the electricity consumed in the EU.

In 2021, more than three quarters of gross electricity consumption in Austria (76.2%, relying mostly on hydro) and Sweden (75.7%, mostly hydro and wind) was generated from renewable sources.

These EU Member States were followed by Denmark (62.6%, mostly wind), Portugal (58.4%, wind and hydro) and Croatia (53.5%, mostly hydro).

At the other end of the scale, the lowest shares of electricity from renewable sources were reported in Malta (9.7%), Hungary (13.7%), Luxembourg (14.2%), Czechia (14.5%) and Cyprus (14.8%).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cyprus Radiotelevision Authority issued a press release Monday in which it states that according to the relevant legislation, all radio-television organisations as well as the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation must end all broadcasting of political advertising by midnight on Thursday, February 2, 2023.

In addition, it says that broadcasting of political advertising for the second round of the presidential elections should end at midnight on Thursday 9 February 2023.

The Authority stresses that failure to comply can lead to measures and the possible imposition of sanctions, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus and Greece signed a protocol for the cooperation of the two countries’ fire services, on Monday, in Nicosia, which formalises and strengthens the existing cooperation of the two bodies while this joint effort is to prepare the ground for regional cooperation.

The protocol was signed by Cyprus’ Justice Minister Stephie Dracos and Greece’s Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Stylianides.

The protocol was drafted on Dracos’ initiative, after discussing it with Stylianides during a visit to Athens. She noted that, it includes a number of “important actions” that strengthen the already existing cooperation. “I think it is important because a new perspective is being created for Cyprus, to be part of a broader cooperation that will gradually expand and include other Mediterranean countries,” she added.

In his statements, after signing the protocol, Stylianides, who is the former European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said that, the cooperation protocol “establishes, while at the same time significantly strengthens an already existing cooperation which has been in place for years between the two bodies”.

He also noted that the two delegations have people with experience in the field, and that this protocol “is already registered in the minds” of the two fire services that have cooperated on many occasions both in Cyprus and Greece during wildfires and other disasters.

He added that this joint effort of the two fire services will be a background on which Greece and Cyprus, as the EU member states in the eastern Mediterranean region, will help to build a regional cooperation under the umbrella of RescEU, and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Stylianides also expressed the belief that, this cooperation and this protocol will provide opportunities to receive increased funding from European funds, which, as he said, are necessary to supplement the national budget for such difficult operations.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cyprus National Addictions Authority (CNAA) participates in a European citizen’s initiative for a smoke-free environment and the first European smoke-free generation by 2030, CNAA President, Dr. Christos Mina announced, during a press conference, on Monday.

According to the statistics he cited for the last month, the percentage of students aged 15-16 who smoke in Cyprus was 14%. It is lower than the European average, continuing the downward trend, yet 4.5% of students use e-cigarettes daily. Cyprus holds a high position in Europe in electronic cigarettes and hookahs, according to the data presented in the press conference.

Addressing the conference, Dr. Mina said that smoking is the number one public health problem internationally and spoke of approximately 700,000 deaths per year in Europe due to smoking. He added that CNAA participates as a member in the European Network for Tobacco Prevention, which includes 38 European countries with 77 members.

He explained that the initiative of the European network, which started on January 26, 2023 and will last one year, is to collect 1,000,000 electronic signatures across Europe. The initiative, he emphasised, is a call to the European citizen to demand that the European Commission propose and implement legislation on smoking addiction, so that we can have a smoke-free environment.

The President of CNAA quoted statistics regarding smoking in Cyprus. In particular, he said that about 4 in 10 adults have smoked in the last month according to the latest General Population Survey, adding that one in 10 smokes more than 20 cigarettes a day. In the last month, Dr. Mina continued, 14% of 15-16-year-old students smoked, which is lower than the European average and on a downward trend since 2003.

Cyprus has a high position all over Europe in electronic cigarettes and hookahs, significantly exceeding the European average, the President of the CNAA pointed out. Replying to a question, he said that 4.5% of students make daily use of e-cigarettes, clarifying that this finding comes from the 2019 survey and that the results of this year’s survey is still pending.

He also reported that one in five students had used hookah in the past month, which is a high percentage. Dr. Mina noted that “there is a huge misconception that hookah is not harmful.”

The President of CNAA said that the Authority calls on adults to sign the European citizens’ initiative. “By signing this initiative we can all actively contribute to a healthy population, a healthy environment and a healthy Europe,” he stressed.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

EU Agriculture Ministers discussed the ways that market developments affect agricultural activity in the European Union, said Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis after participating in the morning session of his last Agriculture and Fisheries Council as Minister on Monday.

Kadis said that during the discussion it was generally agreed that farmers across the EU are being adversely affected by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Especially the increase in energy costs has caused a ripple effect bringing about price increases for grain, animal feed and production costs in general. Of course similar effects are also being observed in Cyprus, and we presented specific data on this during the Council,” he added.

The Agriculture Minister added that all Ministers agreed on the necessity to maintain the solidarity corridors that transport agricultural products from Ukraine to other European countries and to the whole world, as well as to help maintain agricultural activity in Ukraine for the benefit of the citizens of the country and the world.

Costas Kadis also referred to the fact that today’s Agriculture Council is the last one in which he participates as Minister, and added that he had the opportunity to say farewell to his counterparts and the Commissioners for Health and Agriculture, whom he thanked for their cooperation over the last five years and for “difficult and pleasant moments together”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In 2021, fossil fuels made up 70% of gross available energy in the EU, remaining at the same level as in 2020, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU. Cyprus had the third largest share in 2021 (88.83%), right after the Netherlands (89.12%).

The country’s share remained virtually unchanged compared to 2020. However, since 1990, the share of fossil fuels in gross available energy in Cyprus fell significantly by 10.8 percentage points (pp).

The EU continues to largely rely on fossil fuels for its overall energy supply, as illustrated by the ratio of fossil fuels in gross available energy (the total energy demand of a country or region).

This percentage had decreased significantly in the EU over the last decades. Since 1990, the first year for which data are available, it dropped by 13 percentage points, mostly due to the increase in renewable energy.

In 2021, Malta (96%) remained the EU country with the highest share of fossil fuels in gross available energy followed by Cyprus and the Netherlands (89%), Ireland and Poland (88%).

Most of the other EU countries had shares between 50% and 85%. Only Sweden (32%), Finland (38%) and France (48%) had shares below 50%.

Compared with 2020, in 2021, the largest, yet rather small, decreases in the share of fossil fuels in gross available energy were in Finland (-3 pp), Belgium (-3 pp), Lithuania (-3 pp), Portugal (-2 pp) and Denmark (-2 pp).

The largest increases were in Bulgaria (+4 pp), Estonia (+3 pp), Poland and Slovakia (both +2 pp) and Spain (+1 pp).

Cyprus saw a very slight decrease of 0.3 pp, from 89.13% in 2020 to 88.83% in 2021, which essentially kept its share to around 89% during both of those years.

Over the past decade, all the EU members registered a decrease in their share of fossil fuels in gross available energy. The largest decrease was measured in Denmark (from 81% to 57%; -25 pp), followed by Estonia (from 91% in 2010 to 69% in 2021; -22 pp) and Finland (from 57% to 38%; -19 pp).

Other significant decreases were recorded in Latvia (from 69% to 57%; -12 pp), Luxembourg (from 90% to 79%; -11 pp) and Lithuania (from 75% to 64%; -10 pp).

On the other hand, the smallest decreases were measured in Germany (from 81% to 79%; -2 pp), followed by Romania (from 75% to 72%; -3 pp), Malta (from 100% to 96%; slightly over -3 pp), Hungary (from 73% to 69%; -4 pp) and France (from 52% to 48%; -4 pp).

Cyprus meanwhile saw a significant drop over the past two decades, from 99.6% in 1990 to 88.8% in 2021 (-10.8 pp).

Source: Cyprus News Agency