RE:RE:SYRIZA leaves Parliament: We will not legalize this process I am trying to determine that now through translating greek sources; one thing is for sure though This new government will not back down on a clearly stated plan to handle this;
Modernization of environmental legislation, integration into the Greek legislation of Directives 2018/844 and 2019/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council and other provisions »
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I am coming to Parliament today not to talk again about the pandemic, the battle with which it continues with results that are still extremely encouraging. I am here to defend an important bill and to respond to the criticism that the Government has received, which I largely consider unjustified. Because the new environmental regulations finally set clear rules for its protection, but at the same time they are promotional drivers for a rapid and, above all, sustainable development. The one that will be called to alleviate the big financial problems of the next day and to bring Greece back on a path of progress and to the avant-garde of Europe. I would like to remind the House that from my first speech as Prime Minister, in the program statements of the Government, I had emphasized that the economic development of the 21st century can only go hand in hand with the practical interest in protecting the environment. I pointed out then that our country, unfortunately, lags behind in both of these areas. Proof: Dozens of investments that sway in the networks of bureaucracy and legal uncertainty. It's one side. The other side, the anarchic construction, the rubbish, is still suffocating us, ranking us in the last places of the European Union in these critical indicators of environmental responsibility. The data, unfortunately, is relentless here. Our country is one of the first in the over-regulation with laws and prohibitions on environmental issues. At the same time, it ranks 35th out of 40 countries in terms of environmental policy effectiveness, which states that the adversary of both development and environmental protection is often one and the same: phobic bureaucracy. I repeat, therefore, and now, prosperity with an ecological sign is a central priority of this Government. My personal position is that the future of our country is directly, linearly, absolutely connected, I would say, with our ability to protect and utilize our unique natural and cultural environment. Because what we call sustainable development is the other side of an essential social policy. It is not development if it does not concern the citizens and it cannot be sustainable if it does not concern the environment. All of the above means that Greece, especially under the current circumstances, is called upon to intensify its efforts to effectively manage the great crisis of climate change. It is called upon to replace polluting and often expensive energy sources with renewable sources that offer cheap and clean electricity. It is called upon to turn its useless materials and waste into wealth. It is called to delimit construction with rigor but also with realism and finally it is called to harmoniously integrate the environment in the economic and social life, in combination with tourism and culture. These government choices have obviously been formulated internationally. In our signature on the Paris Agreement, in our commitment to be consistent with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations by 2030, Greece was one of the first countries to support the European Union's ambitious plan for an economy. without a negative climate footprint in 2050. In our view, these policies are not just conventional obligations, but great opportunities and even opportunities that are already being exploited. We have achieved our 2020 goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and we have set very ambitious goals for the further penetration of renewable energy sources in the energy production mix by 2030 and the national energy and climate plan, which has been prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, it is moving in exactly this direction. And, of course, we are organizing the withdrawal of large lignite plants earlier and more methodically from states that are much stronger, such as Germany. I will return to it