The Norwegian musician Sivert Høyem advises us for instance to walk more often. I couldn’t agree more. Walking, instead of taking the car, is a good and healthy way to get around, and your body, your mind and the environment will also appreciate it. Riding the bicycle is not a bad option either, I would say, although maybe not in the centre of Athens.
Beautiful, but vulnerable
I enjoy very much walking and hiking as a way of recreation, whether it is in my neighborhood in Athens, the area around my summer house in southern Norway or in the beautiful and breathtaking mountains both in Greece and Norway. This makes me realize how beautiful, but also how vulnerable our globe is. Mother Earth is heating up, and if we don’t act now, we won’t be able to hand her over to our future generations in the conditions they deserve to. The many natural disasters we have seen the last years, most extremely by the terrible floods in Pakistan, China and Mexico, and also the wildfires in Russia, are signs that something is wrong.
«Think Globally, Act Locally» is a well-known phrase. It is also a phrase of immediate importance. It means to see the bigger picture, but at the same time do our part on a smaller scale. In this newsletter you will find some ideas on what you can do. It does not take much effort to change into a greener lifestyle, and it is also important to remember that as consumers we do have the power to choose environmentally friendly products and suppliers.
Norway to act as a pioneer
What we do on the smaller scale is important, but we can’t get away from the fact that we have to depend on our world leaders if the environmental challenges are to be solved. In this effort, Norway’s ambition is to act as a leading nation and a pioneer.
That’s why Norway is investing more than USD 1 billion in carbon capture and storage nationally in 2009–2010, and The Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg pledged at Bali in 2007 to commit up to 500 million USD a year to reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries. Emissions from tropical deforestation constitute about 17 per cent of the global total.
In addition, Norway will contribute through our partnership in the European Economic Area, and we have proposed funding of at least EUR 160 million over a period of five years to support CCS projects in selected EU Member states.
Greece is among the countries where exciting environmental projects are going on – supported by the EEA Grants. The EEA Grants 2009-14 will finance projects within the fields of environmental protection and management, climate change and renewable energy.