The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou addresses a message of vigilance and cooperation to deal with the climate crisis on the occasion of the opening of the annual UN conference on climate change.

With a post on Facebook, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou notes that “the effects of the climate crisis are already visible. Especially our neighborhood, the Mediterranean, has become a “hotspot” of climate change, he underlines and adds that “Mediterranean countries must react in concert and take collective action to reverse its effects”.

In this context, he emphasizes “that we need trust in science and its lessons and above all political will so that we can face the challenge of our century in a timely and effective manner”.

He notes, finally, that “Each of us must do what we can and contribute in our own way in this collective effort. There is no more time to waste».

In particular, in her post on social media, the President of the Republic states: “The annual UN climate change conference (COP28) starting today in the United Arab Emirates is particularly critical. It is expected to be the first assessment of the collective effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and governments will need to revisit and update their 2030 climate targets as soon as possible. They should also to restore trust in multilateral diplomacy, which frayed last year when political priorities shifted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and conflicting goals between energy security and climate change mitigation emerged.

The effects of the climate crisis are already visible. Especially our neighborhood, the Mediterranean, has become a “hotspot” of climate change. The scientific community has warned of the dangers of inadequate preparation, underlining that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of prevention. For this reason, last August, together with my counterparts from Italy, Croatia, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia, we stressed that the Mediterranean countries must react in concert and take collective action to reverse the effects her.

It is a fatal mistake to believe that every effort is doomed to failure and that nothing can be done, adopting a new form of climate change denial, “climate fatalism”, attitude that leads to destruction. On the contrary, we need trust in science and its lessons and, above all, political will in order to face the challenge of our century in a timely and effective manner. At the same time, each of us must do everything in our power and contribute in our own way to this collective effort. There is no more time to waste!”