Mitsotakis – Nat’l eco goals include 50% reduction in plastic refuse by 2030; insists on ending lignite use

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking from the French port city of Marseilles on Friday, said the country will assume the 2023 presidency for implementing the action plan of the “Mediterranean: An Exemplary Sea Until 2023” initiative.

Mitsotakis was in France at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron for the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

In burnishing his government’s “green” credentials before a gathering of global leaders and representatives of international organizations, Mitsotakis said national goals include a reduction of plastic refuse in the country by 50 percent until 2030; 30 percent for micro-plastics.

Additionally, he said 10 percent of Greek waters will be off-limits for fishing, a goal aimed at overturning the spectre of over-fishing in the Mediterranean.

In terms of the all-important tourism sector, Mitsotakis said his government will prepare a special strategy for “sustainable tourism development”, a plan aimed at reducing the sector’s negative impact on the natural environment.

Finally, he repeated that Greece still aims for a full end to the use of lignite by 2028, in tandem with the connection of all islands with the national grid and completion of the protection framework for Natura 2000 area by next week.