PM Mitsotakis: Proposal for a national target to ban the circulation of internal combustion engines in transport

The need to enact the first climate law of the Greek Republic was stressed by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the discussion in the competent committees of the Parliament.

Mr. Mitsotakis pointed out that the question is that “we will specify the course of the country, through a road map for the next 30 years and reach net zero in terms of gaseous pollutant emissions, and in our country.”

In this regard, the Prime Minister argued that “this must be done on the one hand in a technocratic way and on the other hand we need Greek society as an ally. “We have an obligation of intergenerational solidarity, that is, to deliver a clean environment to our children, to the next generations,” he said, describing climate change as “an existential threat to humanity.”

He spoke of a framework law that should set specific quantitative targets for the next 30 years but also allow the participation of society and parliament in controlling progress.

He referred to the government’s initiatives through the “Greece 2.0” plan for the green economy, while citing as an example the implementation of a climate law, that of Germany. The law provides for the preparation of an annual pollutant budget and coincides with the annual preparation of the economic budget.

The Prime Minister briefly described the difficulties posed by specific sectors of the economy in reducing gaseous emissions, such as industry or transport. In fact, in the field of transport, he proposed the establishment of a national target for the prohibition of the use of internal combustion engines.

He referred to “green” technologies that will need support such as energy storage systems and “green” hydrogen.

He noted that in the field of energy efficiency of buildings we can take bold steps as there is increased investment interest and interest of citizens to participate in energy savings.

The Prime Minister, after emphasizing many times in his speech the need to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity for economic development with a model of sustainability, closed his speech with the hope that Greece becomes a protagonist in tackling climate change.