Committed more than ever to the EU Green Deal, the Greek Prime Minister declared, Kyriakos Mitsotakisspeaking at the Plenary of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

As the Prime Minister noted, the EU needs a smart green deal with four urgent adjustments to get there: trade-offs involved in the energy transition, a reboot of the regulatory framework, Europe’s re-commitment to the internal energy market and more resources for adaptation to climate change.

We cannot focus so much on 2050 and forget about 2024, stressed Mr. Mitsotakis.

The Prime Minister’s entire speech

“Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,

We meet again at a critical moment. The climate is changing and we are reminded of this almost on a weekly basis by yet another tragedy that strikes some part of the planet. This reality gives our discussions a new sense of urgency.

Greece is a pioneer in the energy transition. Our emissions have decreased by 45% compared to 2005, while the participation of lignite, which clearly covered more than 50% of our electricity generation, has now been reduced to just 6%.

Today we rely on wind and solar power for almost half of our electricity needs. We insulate homes and create a value chain in carbon sequestration for our industry. Greece is absolutely committed to the energy transition.

However, to move forward, we need to put this transition on firmer ground. The challenge I see is this: how do we achieve a transition that our citizens can accept and our businesses can afford? How can we avoid backlash at the political level against this ambitious project?

This is a problem we have seen in Europe. Europe is a pioneer in renewable energy sources, but we still have higher energy prices relative to anyone else. We are the only region that imposes a heavy tax on emissions. We are almost alone in defending the rules of free trade.

However, Europe’s share of global emissions is falling and in 2023 it accounted for just 6%. We cannot be driven to abandon the industry. Zero emissions must be part of a wider European strategy and not the other way around.

We need a smart green deal. See four emergency adjustments to get there.

FirstlyEurope and the world need to be more honest about compensations entailed by the energy transition. Yes, the energy transition will reduce costs in the long run, but this transition will not be painless.

We have to reflect on one path that is happening at a very fast pace and leads to a decrease in our competitiveness, and another path that develops somewhat more slowly, allowing the industry to adapt and prosper. It is our responsibility to carefully evaluate these trade-offs, and not hope they will magically disappear.

SecondlyEurope needs restart in terms of the regulatory framework. We spend too much to achieve goals that, in reality, are subject to limited control and enjoy limited legitimacy. We learned our lesson when we tried to bring the transition to our farmers. We cannot micromanage this transition.

Each country must choose its own ambitious path. We need to move aggressively to tackle the ‘easier’ emissions first and allow new technologies to mature. We must at all costs remain neutral regarding the development of technology and let innovation do its work.

Thirdly, Europe must recommit itself to the internal energy market. In rhetoric, everyone supports the internal market, but in practice, Europe is often the stitching together of 27 distinct strategies.

Sometimes we have a zero-sum mentality in Europe, instead of thinking about the European and global interest in a rapidly changing world. The easiest way to strengthen the internal energy market, achieve the energy transition and reduce energy prices, is to invest in our networks.

The Draghi report was very clear on this: networks are a European public good. There is no internal market without a massive expansion of electricity transmission capacity in Europe.

And, finally, we need to do more to adapt to climate change. Across Europe, but also across the world, our citizens are being hit by unprecedented climate-related disasters.

We need more resources to prepareto respond in time to save lives and property and help people and communities rebuild after a disaster. We cannot focus so much on 2050 and forget about 2024.

I am more committed than ever to the EU Green Deal. Europe must and will remain a world leader in the transition. But we need to be smart and pragmatic, focused on data and science, with increased flexibility and with a renewed sense of what Europe, united, can achieve.

We cannot waver in our determination to tackle climate change but we must do more to ensure that we can and must continue this journey seamlessly and without leaving anyone behind.

Thank you very much”.