Three laws concerning the reduction pollutant reduction and the promotion of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) were passed by the Plenum of the House of Representatives after a lengthy debate regarding the cost of energy and the need to further promote clean energy.
The first harmonizing law concerns better control of fuel marketing and use and was passed with 41 votes for and 3 against by ELAM.
The second law concerns the adoption of new legislation to improve the operation of the Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving Fund and enhance its efficiency, as well as to achieve the respective national binding targets.
The third law, which is also harmonising and was adopted unanimously, establishes measures and policies for the promotion of renewable energy sources and the achievement of national targets for their use, and in particular lays down rules for the use of renewable energy sources in the electricity and heating and cooling sectors. It also strengthens the role and participation of citizens in RES issues and introduces provisions to support self-consumption of electricity from RES and the operation of renewable energy communities (RECs), in which citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises and local authorities may jointly participate in the development and exploitation of RES projects, bringing economic, social and environmental benefits to their community.
The adoption of the laws was preceded by an intense and lengthy debate on all relevant issues, including They turned their fire on fuel companies saying they are stealing from the world, and in these circumstances. The Energy Commission, he added, called for the government to proceed with an audit of the companies' profitability. Solutions, he added, exist but there is no will to protect the people.
EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou[/B] noted that when a serious MP makes such allegations about the companies and no one reacts, neither the Parliament nor the responsible minister, then why shouldn't they continue robbing the people. There is a plethora of legislation that could have been activated and were not, he added, noting the high costs faced by the primary sector due to fuel.
ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis said that companies have increased profits in many cases but unfair taxes are also being introduced by the government. He also said there is a lot of bureaucracy and applications for renewable energy sources do not proceed, and called for public buildings to be used for photovoltaic systems and not farmland.
DIKO MP Chrysis Pantelidis said that under the shadow of illegal fuel trade with the occupied territories, unfair competition against businesses negatively affects the environment and leads to a loss of revenue for the state. He added that the law they are passing is another tool in the hands of the state machinery to implement as strictly as possible, namely the green line regulation
DISY MP Onoufrios Koulla said there was no easy way to reduce pollutants from transport and that incentives were costly. He also said that if the companies were cheating us we would have to prove it and that the relevant department which can recommend to the minister to impose a cap if it found obscenity in fuel did not do so. The state, he said, could only impose the minimum tax rate.
Limassol MP Andreas Themistocleous said that the fuel companies have a cartel and steal from the citizens,[/B] while AEK pays in the stock exchange of pollutants because it is in its interest, before the risk of entering the great struggle of modernization at an unbearable cost.
EDEK MP Elias Mirianthous[/B] said that the size of the economy does not allow the development of healthy competition and the intervention of the state is required. He added that the Competition Commission had conducted an investigation which indicated that there was an oligopoly in fuel and imposed fines which were subsequently dropped for procedural reasons. However, competition in this segment, he said, no one told them that it was being sanitised. At the same time, he said that instead of charging much lower prices, the companies producing with renewable energy sources were approaching the price of AEK with oil and called for state intervention.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvidis said that there is no control and by saying that we are being robbed but we cannot do anything in the end "we will be booed". He also said that help should be given to farmers and stockbreeders while what we give them we will take from them through fuel.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou[/B] said that it is a challenge to say that there is no obscenity at a time when citizens are experiencing it. He said that DISY says there is no obscenity, while the NPA fined oil companies for cartels in 2017. He said "we have cartels in fuel, in milk, in golden passports, in the end Pablo Escobar will be jealous of us."
DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis[/B] said that the legislation passed today concerns the control criteria and control characteristics of fuels and for the first time, inspectors, power structures that did not exist in the past, are defined. He said we should not ignore the international data on price increases and called for those who talk about theft and obscenity to bring evidence. Hatzigiannis expressed disappointment that despite the tremendous work of the Energy Commission on laws that ensure accountability and transparency on renewable energy issues, the debate today was focused elsewhere.
Necessary transition to RES
The MEP of the Ecologists, Stavros Papadouris, explained that following their amendment incorporated in the text, consumers were included in the management of the RES and RES fund, i.e. those who pay. At the same time, he said that they proposed that a percentage of the money returned from the auction of pollutants could be put into this fund. He also called for full liberalization of the measures announced for the installation of photovoltaics, which is not the case today, and stressed the importance of the country's energy autonomy.
The MP of the DPA, Michalis Giakoumi, spoke of the need for the state to proceed with policies to lift the absolute dependence on RES and further penetration of RES and the need for innovative practices and decisions.
The MP of ELAM, Sotiris Ioannou, referred to the reduction of the excise tax on fuel, stating that it is an obligation of the state, since its revenues have increased due to the increase in prices at petrol stations. He also mentioned that despite the first reduction of the fuel tax that had been made, citizens have seen practically no reduction.
The MEP for the Ecologists, Alexandra Attalidou, spoke about the need to use the revenues from the pollutant exchange in order for the state to have a long-term plan that will become a driving force for the green transition. She also said that priority should be given to vulnerable groups for a just transition.
The President of the Ecologists, Haralambos Theopeptou, said that what should be done first and foremost is to find a way to reduce energy demand through energy upgrades and renewable energy sources. He also said that the state is making it difficult for consumers and businesses that want to install photovoltaic systems and has not met its obligation to install smart meters. He added that they are making it difficult to expand RES because the AEK network does not lift them and no one is taking responsibility to fix it.
AKEL MP George Loukaides said that with the reduction of the excise tax on fuel, there will be no reduction in prices the next day, as the existing policy is being continued until September. He also said that a Commission report said that Cyprus is behind the EU average in pollutant emissions, energy poverty, penetration of renewable energy sources, recycling and spending on the environment, while environmental taxes are much higher.
In response, he said that the government is proud of the management of the crises it had to face, is still alive and can achieve even more, unlike the five years of AKEL, which he said was the worst governance. He agreed that more needs to be done, but countered that leaps forward have been made. He expressed confidence that Cyprus will achieve the 2030 targets due to the increased efficiency of photovoltaic systems and said that the goal of zero pollution will be gradually achieved by 2050.
AKEL MP Andros Kyprianou said he takes his hat off to DISY, which can transform itself and give different opinions depending on the discussions.
Source: KYPE
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