Greek PM inundated with e-cards for climate action

21 Nov 2008

Athens, Greece: More than 3,000 Greek citizens have responded to a WWF call over the past four days by sending their Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis, a WWF e-card asking him to take an active part in the global efforts to fight climate change.

The WWF e-card sent to the Greek Prime Minister by over 3,000 Greek citizens.
© WWF Greece

In the card is a projection of what Thessaloniki, Greece’s second biggest city, could look like around the middle of this century if action is not taken to stem global warming.

The senders also ask the PM to show the necessary political will during the next UN Climate Conference, in Poznan, Poland from 1-12 December 2008, where world leaders will be called upon to decide a 60-80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

“Greece is a country which can develop sustainably based on clean energy and low greenhouse emissions,” said Demetres Karavellas, Director of WWF Greece.

“Our country is capable of responding to the challenge of climate change, given the right vision and the political will and given that the policies and measures are in place.”

The e-card action follows a new WWF Greece report prepared by Ecofys confirming that Greece can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions within the range proposed by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change for the year 2050.

The study, “Solutions for climate change: a low carbon vision for Greece in 2050” defines a a CO2 emission reduction of up to 67 per cent by 2050.

It says the energy and construction sectors can help achieve the lion’s share of the reductions and cut emissions by up to 93 per cent by 2050.

In addition, renewable energy sources could generate 58 per cent of all power in 2050 while increased energy efficiency would result in more than half the envisaged emission reductions.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas prefaced the WWF Greece report stressing that: “This is one of the most important reports that have been completed to date, presenting actions that a country like Greece could take in order to contribute in the common effort to combat the world climate challenge.”