Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Elaborating on Greece’s environmental policy, Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Tina Birbili outlined her ministry’s priorities for 2011 in an interview with the Dutch magazine Lychnari.
Urban regeneration, forests, waste management, and renewables will be the Ministry’s focus. Birbili intends to redress the impact of arbitrary construction caused by the lack of a forest cadastre.
Another issue is water and waste management. Polluted rivers must be cleaned and the ministry will press local governments to undertake big scale recycling projects, by levying taxes on those municipalities who fail to turn to treatment instead of using rubbish dumps.
Referring to Greece’s opportunity to capitalize on renewable energy sources (RES), Birbili noted that Greece can adopt a bottom-up model in promoting RES, such as solar panels on rooftops.
She also dismisses criticism concerning the installation, for example, of wind turbines on islands, noting that "such infrastructure fits the Greek landscape, provided that we act proportionately."
She also dismisses criticism concerning the installation, for example, of wind turbines on islands, noting that "such infrastructure fits the Greek landscape, provided that we act proportionately."
