PM meets US climate envoy Kerry in Athens
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed Greek efforts in curbing greenhouse gas emissions during a meeting with US climate envoy John Kerry at Maximos Mansion on Monday.
“You know how committed Greece is to this agenda and how much progress we have made on numerous fronts over the past three years,” said Mitsotakis, emphasizing “the very rapid penetration of renewable energy” into the country’s energy mix.
“We plan to add 2 gigawatts of renewable energy sources in 2022 alone. And this ranks us among Europe’s pioneers on this front,” he said.
The two sides also discussed Greece’s hosting of the “Our Ocean Conference” in 2014.
“The fact that Greece, with its amazing shipping and maritime history, will take the reins after Panama is a perfectly logical choice. So this will be a great step,” Kerry said.
“Many do not realize the connection between oceans and the climate crisis. One cannot solve the issue of the climate crisis without summarizing what is happening in the oceans. And vice versa,” he said.
Several Greek and US officials attended the meeting, including Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and American Ambassador George Tsunis.