To paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli, there are lies, damned lies, and announcements by YPEHODE (the Ministry of the Environment, Town Planning and Public Works), such as the announcement made in full-page ads in the press saying that Greece has not been ejected from the Kyoto Protocol.

Lies, however, have a habit of catching up with you. In a joint response, the environmental groups WWF and Greenpeace simply translated the announcement of the United Nations committee, which said that Greece does not have the right to participate in the mechanism outlined by articles 6, 12 and 17 of the Kyoto Protocol.

The truth is simply that plain and no amount of advertising can make it go away.