Miltiadis Varvitsiotis to John Kerry: Greece welcome the USA’s return to the Paris Agreement
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis participated in an informal videoconference on climate diplomacy, which was also attended by U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry.
The Alternate Minister welcomed the new U.S. administration’s decision to return to the Paris Agreement and fight climate change.
Climate change, he highlighted, is not just an important European policy, but also a top national policy for Greece, which has already set the very ambitious goal of totally eliminating lignite from its energy mix by 2028. “Today we are dependent on lignite, and we hope to free ourselves from it over the next seven years,” he said.
Mr. Varvitsiotis also emphasized the link between climate change and another important European policy: the Younger Generation. He stressed that the young people of Europe are showing a strong sensitivity to climate issues and that, if we truly want to fight this battle, we have to listen to the demands of the younger generation.
The videoconference was held on the initiative of the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeppe Kofod, ahead of this fall’s UN Climate Change Conference and global fair transition from coal to clean forms of energy. The First Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and EU High Representative Josep Borrell joined the EU Foreign Ministers in attending the conference.
January 22, 2021