A joint appeal has been issued by six Heads of State on the climate emergency in the Mediterranean.
President George Vella and five Heads of State of Mediterranean countries, all members of the Arraiolos group, have issued a joint statement on climate emergency, in which they are calling for urgent and effective action on climate change in the region.
The joint declaration shown below, is signed by the Presidents of Malta, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy:
Appeal for the Mediterranean
As expected the climate crisis has arrived and reached explosive proportions, so much so that there is now talk of a ‘state of climate emergency.’ The UN Secretary General at the end of July called the current crisis a state of ‘global boiling.’
Its effects are especially visible in our region, the Mediterranean, which is severely affected and at immediate risk of not only water and electricity scarcity, but also of floods, widespread heat waves, fires and desertification. Extreme natural phenomena are destroying the ecosystem and threatening our daily life, our way of life.
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 Heads of State of the following Mediterranean countries and members 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.
George Vella – President of the Republic of Malta
Zoran Milanovic – President of the Republic of Croatia
Katerina Sakellaropoulou – President of the Hellenic Republic
Sergio Mattarella – President of the Italian Republic
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – President of the Portuguese Republic
NataĊĦa Pirc Musar – President of the Republic of Slovenia.
File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary