Cyprus Government Going Green!

The government of Cyprus has drawn up a national action plan addressing a series of environmentally friendly measures, after the EU requested all Member States do so.
The island’s national plan runs up to 2009 and is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment.

A public information campaign is under way, which is to cost £70,000 over the next three years.

The action plan is made up of six main parts. Perhaps the most important one is finding a way o save water. There are plans o use treated waste water in schools, army camps, some hotels and for agricultural purposes.

Water-saving taps will also be promoted, as will so-called ‘intelligent’ toilets that can gauge the amount of water required for each individual flush. The cost is said to be in he region of £66,000 next year and £80,000 for 2009.

Government departments will be kitted out with recycled paper and stationary, with around £700,000 set aside for this purpose. All government documents must be printed on both sides to save paper, while all correspondence with the EU and international organisations must be on recycled paper. As from next year, 20 per cent of all paper used by the government printing offices must be recycled. This will increase to 40 per cent in 2009.

Regarding electricity, energy-saving light bulbs and photovoltaic lighting will be used for roads and public buildings, with motion-sensitive lighting used in certain places o save energy. Solar energy will be promoted for heating buildings, as will natural gas instead of petrol for central heating units.

In the household, approximately £100,000 is to be spent on promoting environmentally friendly items, including recycled toilet and kitchen paper.

New buildings and those being refurbished will incorporate energy-saving measures, with modern building materials that require less maintenance used.

Cars with less CO2 emissions will be encouraged, along with more hybrid vehicles.

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou this week told the Mail that Cyprus’ plan, which is officially called Green Procurement, has been approved by the Council of Ministers last week.

“Discussions have been taking place since late last year on he issue and the plan is set to cost a few million pounds to be implemented,” he explained.

“The measures proposed relate to he purchasing power of the government, which is £600 million annually. A fraction of his money is to be used in enders which will include green parameters.”

The Commissioner described the plan as beneficial to the environment as it will look after resources. “We hope that it will generate new economic activity in the sense of introducing more green products into the market.”