Need for private-public sectors cooperation for green transition, Minister says

Cyprus’ Energy Minister, George Papanastasiou, on Thursday stressed the need for close cooperation between the private and public sectors for accelerating the transition to a green, sustainable and competitive economy in Cyprus.

Addressing an event of the Cyprus Energy Saving Businesses Association on energy efficiency in businesses, requirements and financing opportunities, Papanastasiou said that his Ministry places great emphasis on policies that would lead to the country’s faster transition to a green economy and its main concern is to achieve all national energy goals with these policies, but also with the individual measures it implements, while ensuring the well-being of citizens and the growth of the economy.

“We are working to improve energy efficiency, further exploit renewable energy sources (RES), strengthen businesses' competitiveness, reduce energy costs for all consumers, lift Cyprus’ energy isolation, strengthen the security of energy supply and operate a competitive internal electricity market,” he said.

He added that the revised National Energy and Climate Plan, which will be submitted to the European Commission next week, aims precisely to provide a detailed roadmap for the transition to a competitive energy system, with low greenhouse gas emissions.

The Minister also said that so far “we have managed to achieve almost all of our interim targets”. In 2022, primary energy consumption and final energy consumption amounted to 2.48 and 1.82 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) respectively and are consistent with the respective forecasts set in the existing National Plan, he said.

He also said that, according to data published by Eurostat, the share of energy from RES in Cyprus’ gross energy consumption amounted to 20.2% in 2023, while that, based on the new planning, the country will manage to achieve a 33.17% share of RES by 2030, while the country's final energy consumption in 2030 will not exceed 1.8 million toes.

According to Papanastasiou, the national mandatory target for cumulative energy savings of 349.04 thousand toe during final use by 2030 will also be achieved, with 15.1% of this target relating to measures to be taken for the benefit of energy-poor households and other vulnerable groups of the population.

Papanastasiou noted that, to achieve these targets, emphasis will be placed on the implementation of additional measures to improve energy efficiency in residential and business buildings, since a large part of the existing building stock is responsible for a significant percentage of energy consumption in Cyprus. At the same time, he said, measures will be taken that will reduce energy consumption in industrial facilities and related processes.

He also said that, in order to promote energy efficiency in businesses, the Ministry regularly announces grant schemes that aim to provide incentives. To this end, he continued, the Ministry has secured a budget of €40 million within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Facility which is available through the “I Save – I Upgrade in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Non-Profit Organisations” scheme.

The Minister noted that for the needs of large businesses, in 2024, a grants scheme for their energy upgrading and strengthening their competitiveness was implemented for the first time, with a total budget of €17 million. Of this, he pointed out, at least €10 million will be allocated exclusively to energy upgrading expenses. He said that 31 applications were received, which are under evaluation.

“In order to achieve our common goals, accelerating our country’s transition to a green, sustainable and competitive economy, but also promoting energy efficiency”, coordinated and collective effort was needed, he said, adding that it was important to make the best possible use of available European and national resources, mobilise more private investment, monitor the progress of policies and react quickly, introducing additional measures where and when needed.

“However, what is primarily required is close cooperation between the private and public sectors and targeted information, so that we can convince people of the real benefits”, he said.