ATHENS – Following an initiative launched by the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the presidents of the states that form the Arraiolos Group – Greece, Italy, Croatia, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia – on Thursday issued a joint appeal calling for urgent action to address the dangers from the climate crisis in the Mediterranean.
In their joint statement the Presidents highlight the severity of the climate crisis noting that “there is now talk of a ‘state of climate emergency’” and that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred to the current crisis as a state of “global boiling”.
“Its effects are especially visible in our region, the Mediterranean, which is severely affected facing immediate risks of not only water and electricity scarcity, but also floods, heat waves, fires and desertification. Extreme natural phenomena are destroying the ecosystem and threatening our daily life, our way of life,” they say adding that:
“There is no more time to waste, no more time to compromise for political or economic reasons. It is imperative to act and take urgent effective initiatives. All Mediterranean countries must coordinate and react, engage in a collective effort to halt and reverse the effects of the climate crisis.
It is the duty of all of us to act in this direction and to adopt concrete policies to this effort. Raise public awareness, educate and inspire in everyone the ethics of environmental responsibility. Not only for the present, but also for the future of our children and generations to come”.
The Presidents of the Arraiolos Group pledge “to fully support joint action initiatives and appeal to the European Union, other Mediterranean countries and the international community to keep this issue high on their political agenda”.
The document was signed by Presidents Katerina Sakellaropoulou of the Hellenic Republic, Sergio Mattarella of Italy, Zoran Milanovic of Croatia, George Vella of Malta, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal and Natasa Pirc Musar of Slovenia.
