The world needs to be “more honest” about the trade-offs needed to keep global temperatures down, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the UN climate summit in Baku on Wednesday.
“Europe and the world must be more honest about the trade offs involved in the energy transition. Yes, the energy transition will, in the long run, lower costs, but this transition will not be painless,” Mitsotakis said.
“We need to ask hard questions about a path that goes very fast at the expense of our competitiveness, and a path that goes somewhat slower but allows our industry to adapt and to thrive. It is our responsibility to weigh these trade offs carefully, not to whisk them away,” he said.
“Our citizens are faced with unprecedented climate shocks, we need more resources to prepare to respond in time, in order to save lives and livelihoods and to help people and communities rebuild after disaster. We cannot focus so much on 2050 that we forget 2024.”
