US climate envoy Kerry makes Athens stopover

US climate envoy John Kerry speaks to the cameras in front of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio outside Athens, as US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis (r) looks on. Kerry, who was on a two-day stop in Athens, met on Monday with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who stressed Greek efforts in curbing greenhouse gas emissions. ‘You know how committed Greece is to this agenda and how much progress we have made on numerous fronts over the past three years,’ said Mitsotakis, emphasizing ‘the very rapid penetration’ of renewables into the country’s energy mix. ‘We plan to add 2 gigawatts of renewable energy sources in 2022 alone. And this ranks us among Europe’s pioneers on this front,’ he said. The two sides also discussed Greece’s hosting of the Our Ocean Conference in 2024. ‘The fact that Greece, with its amazing shipping and maritime history, will take the reins after Panama is a perfectly logical choice. So this will be a great step,’ Kerry said. [US Embassy]