08/09/2021 16:16
"The unprecedented new reality we are experiencing for more than a year now due to the pandemic, stresses the need to intensify efforts towards achieving sustainable development", said President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou.
She was addressing on Tuesday the 5th World conference of Speakers of Parliament, held in Austria and organised by the IPU and the Parliament of Austria in cooperation with the UN.
In her speech during the segment on “The post-pandemic recovery: Transforming the economy to combat climate change and promote sustainable development”, Demetriou said that establishing the necessary political and socio-economic conditions which will lead to stability, economic growth and environmental preservation, is the best way forward.
The post-pandemic recovery must be driven by bold reforms, in line with international agreements.
In this regard, she added, we must renew our full commitment to strengthening the work of the United Nations towards the fulfilment of the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This is an ambitious task, she remarked, which requires collective leadership, solidarity and the primacy of multilateralism, in order to meet people’s aspirations for a sustainable planet.
As legislators, said Demetriou, “we have a major and critical role to play in this respect. We must ensure that the SDGs constitute an integral part of our policies aimed at promoting social inclusion, stimulating innovation, accelerating green transition and digitalization, and combating climate change”.
Demetriou warned that if legislators “do not manage to tackle the existing climate crisis by reducing industrial gas emissions and by advancing circular economy, the future of the generations to come appears to be uncertain. Parliaments can make a substantial contribution towards rebuilding the global economy in an eco-friendly manner and contain production and consumption to the necessary levels.”
Cyprus’ economic model is in the process of changing to become more sustainable, functional and resilient and, thus, more responsive to people’s needs and expectations. A Long-Term Strategy will be adopted by the end of 2021, she said, which aims at a robust new model that reflects the country’s potential for sustainable growth, economically, socially and environmentally. Economic performance is certainly important for growth. Yet, competitiveness, productivity, innovation, skills and sustainability are equally significant.
Therefore, Cyprus places a strong focus on diversification, resilience, self-sustainability, the green economy, digitalization and inclusiveness, the House President concluded.