Med presidents issue urgent joint appeal on climate crisis
Following an initiative launched by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the presidents of the member-states of the Arraiolos Group – Greece, Italy, Croatia, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia – issued a joint appeal on Thursday, urging urgent action to address the dangers posed by the climate crisis in the Mediterranean.
In their joint statement, the presidents highlighted the severity of the climate crisis, emphasizing that “there is now talk of a state of climate emergency” and that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred to the current situation as a state of “global boiling.”
The Mediterranean region, they noted, is particularly affected, facing risks such as water and electricity scarcity, floods, heatwaves, fires, and desertification, which are destructively impacting the ecosystem and the daily lives of its inhabitants.
“There is no more time to waste, no more room for compromise due to political or economic reasons. It is imperative to act and take urgent, effective initiatives. All Mediterranean countries must coordinate and unite in a collective effort to halt and reverse the effects of the climate crisis,” they said.
They stressed the importance of adopting concrete policies and raising public awareness about environmental responsibility for the sake of future generations.
In their commitment to joint action, the presidents pledged their full support and called on the European Union, other Mediterranean countries, and the international community to prioritize this pressing issue on their political agendas.
Apart from Sakellaropoulou, the document bears the signatures of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Malta’s President George Vella, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar.
