ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece’s center-right government has set up a new ministry to address the impact of climate change and has appointed former EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides as minister.
Stylianides, 63, who served as humanitarian aid and crisis management commissioner between 2014 and 2019, was named in the wake of wildfires that burned more than 1,000 square kilometers of forest on the island of Evia and in southern Greece.
Intense heat waves in southern Europe in July and August, described in Greece in the worst of decades, fueled deadly fires in Turkey as well and burned in Italy, France and the Balkan countries.
The appointment was announced on Monday after a previous candidate, the former head of the armed forces and Minister of Defense, Evangelos Apostolakis, withdrew, alleging a lack of consensus among the parties promised for the new post.
As Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Stylianides will lead firefighting, disaster relief and policies to adapt to rising temperatures due to climate change.
“I have accepted (the position) with full awareness of the challenges and expectations it entails. The consequences of climate change have overwhelmed us and we need to accelerate major change without delay, “Stylianides said.” Disaster prevention and preparedness is the most effective weapon we have. A former head of the Greek Air Force , General Evangelos Tournas, was appointed supply.In July, the city of Athens appointed Eleni Myrivili, a senior climate scientist, a heat officer, to help protect residents from rising temperatures. Government officials acknowledged mistakes in managing resources while fighting the Evia fire, where the most widespread damage occurred, but also blamed climate change for the steady deterioration of weather conditions.
Prior to being a commissioner, Stylianides was the European Union’s main coordinator for the bloc’s response to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.
Stylianides, a Cypriot national, will get Greek citizenship before being sworn in on Friday, government spokesman Yiannis Economou said. ___
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