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Statement by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus
Ambassador Sotos Zackheos
at the General Debate of the
High Level Meeting
of the Commission on Sustainable Development
Mr. Chairman,
At the outset Mr.
Chairman, I would like to congratulate you and the members of the Bureau, for
your election to the chairmanship of the Ninth Session of the Commission of
Sustainable Development, as well as, for the leadership that you have shown
through the year in preparing for this session. I would also like to sincerely
wish you every success in bringing about a positive outcome of our
deliberations.
Cyprus has aligned itself with the statement delivered
this morning by H. E. Mr. Larsen, Minister of Environment of Sweden on behalf of
the European Union and I will thus limit my remarks to some issues that are of
particular interest to my delegation.
Mr. Chairman,
In our effort to achieve a sustainable future, it is
imperative that we pursue a concerted effort at all levels of government and the
private sector. In this respect, I
would like to welcome the inclusion in the Commission’s programme of work of
the multi-stakeholder dialogue, focusing this year on sustainable energy and
transport. The active involvement of representatives of energy and
transport-related businesses, trade unions, non-governmental organizations,
local authorities and relevant scientific and technological communities, will
contribute substantially, both to the Commission’s deliberations and to the
work of other United Nations Agencies. Every effort aimed at enhancing
cooperation between Governments and major groups towards sustainable development
should be encouraged and we fully support the UN system’s engagement in
developing modalities to enhance partnerships and cooperation in policy
development.
Mr. Chairman,
In facing the
common challenges that lie ahead, international cooperation has been well
identified as of utmost importance for the implementation of Agenda 21. There is
an urgent need for intensifying national, regional and international cooperation
as many issues lend themselves to constructive dialogue and genuine partnership
based on mutual interests and benefits. In this respect, Small Island Developing
States, given their size, limited resources, geographic dispersion and in many
cases, isolation of markets, face special challenges and unique vulnerabilities
of an environmental and economic nature in their efforts to achieve sustainable
development.
The Government of the Republic of Cyprus was honoured
to host the Third AOSIS Workshop on “Climate Change, Energy and Preparations
for CSD 9”, last January. The workshop was organized by the Alliance of Small
Island States in cooperation with the Division for Sustainable Development of
UNDESA and was generously sponsored by the Governments of New Zealand, Norway
and Switzerland, as well as the Global Environment Facility.
The workshop, by bringing together both climate change
and energy experts, has presented the opportunity to make a contribution on
behalf of the Small Island States to the work of the Commission. Indeed, Mr.
Chairman, the Workshop’s Report, which was circulated as a document of the
Commission on Sustainable Development (with reference E/CN.17/2001/11), contains
a series of proposals and recommendations on all the key issues as identified by
the Secretary-General in his Report on Energy and Sustainable Development.
The representatives of 38 small island states, which
participated in the Cyprus Workshop, had the opportunity to share experiences;
elaborate on the common challenges they face and forge common positions to
further promote support for sustainable development. In addition and more
importantly, Mr. Chairman, the successful outcome of this endeavour, as
reflected in the Workshop’s Report, could be considered as a conceptual
framework of an energy agenda for SIDS. (Proceedings and documentation are
available on sidsnet). We had wished to see this Report taking a more
substantial part of the Commission’s conclusions. Nevertheless, we sincerely
hope that the positions contained therein will be taken into account in the
formulation of the policies of the United Nations agencies and other
international organizations, the GEF, the donor countries and the international
community at large.
Mr. Chairman,
In addressing the issue of energy and sustainable
development, I would like to focus on one of the key issues, namely the issue of
renewable energy. The main objective of my country’s comprehensive energy
programme currently implemented, is the reduction of the country’s dependence
on imported energy through the rational use of energy and greatest possible
exploitation of renewable sources of energy. The deployment of such sources,
especially the use of solar power as an alternative energy source is viewed as
extremely beneficial. Our commitment is best demonstrated by the extensive use
of solar water heaters. Since their first production and installation on a small
scale in 1960, a remarkable expansion in the use of this project has taken
place, ranking Cyprus among the leading countries in terms of installed solar
collectors. Over 92% of households and 50% of hotels are currently using this
renewable energy method. Furthermore, Cyprus is currently proceeding with two
new programs for renewable energy, photovoltaic and wind energy. In our effort
to fully realize my country’s significant potential for the use of renewable
energy, through the established practices and new initiatives, we are confident
that Cyprus will meet the target set by the European Union of 12% of renewable
energy by 2010.
Joint action in such fields as better and more reliable
energy technologies, strengthening of energy conservation measures and applied
research concerning the use of clean and renewable forms of energy, could also
have a high value- added contribution in national energy policies. Naturally, we
cannot ignore the negative side of the equation.
Currently, in the absence of credits and uncertainty, the incentives for
industry participation are limited. Awareness raising is thus very important and
the correct messages through the market have to be sent to all actors. Support
for a fair and equitable harmonized system of energy taxes, fees and charges,
coupled with appropriate credits and incentives, could prove to be instrumental
in diverting private capital flows into climate friendly technologies.
Mr. Chairman,
In addressing the different areas
covered by each of the themes before us, one cannot overemphasize the importance
of identifying all aspects of the interlinkages between them, especially between
the sectoral themes of energy and transport on the one hand and the issue of
atmosphere on the other. It is incumbent upon us to take them into
consideration, especially in terms of putting forward recommendations for global
action and preserving the integrity of international endeavours and strategies
like the one envisaged in the Kyoto Protocol. In this respect, and consistent
with its longstanding commitment to international norms, Cyprus has ratified the
Kyoto Protocol and actively supports all efforts to finalize the negotiations on
its implementation. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that
Cyprus fully shares the European Union’s position on the need for having the
Kyoto Protocol enter into force before the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in 2002.
Mr. Chairman,
Implementation of the commitments made at the
international level is not enough. Continuous review of the implementation is
also important, in order to monitor, build on the progress already made and
further promote sustainable development. Public access to information and public
participation is of equal importance. In this context, the Aarhus Convention, to
which Cyprus is a signatory, is a major step forward in promoting access to
environmental information and public participation in decision-making.
Globalization and new information technologies can serve our goal for effective,
wider and faster collection and dissemination of information.
Equally, Mr. Chairman, the role of globalization in the
context of international cooperation for an enabling environment,
is significant. In our view, globalization should not only have a human
face, it should also recognize that the problem of the environment is as crucial
as the promotion of markets and prosperity. Indeed, our actions should not be
geared toward the ephemeral pursuit of short-term objectives, but rather, should
be governed by the belief that we are only the custodians of this planet, which
we should improve for future generations. It is ironic that this concept, so
prevalent among indigenous people, is lost in our greedy self-centered, advanced
societies.
It is obvious that in our globalized world, we will
need to intensify the dialogue among all stakeholders so that we pursue policies
of inclusion and preservation of our planet’s natural heritage and
biodiversity. We must, therefore, act individually and collectively as states,
as well as support the valuable efforts of civil society, for managing change
for the common good.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.