Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country can benefit from a changing climate because it will help to attract visitors outside of the traditional summer months.
(Bloomberg) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country can benefit from a changing climate because it will help to attract visitors outside of the traditional summer months.
“Climate change is an opportunity to expand the tourism season,” Mitsotakis said in a Bloomberg TV interview with Alix Steel and Guy Johnson from New York.
The climate crisis is going to be a long-term challenge all the same, and the world needs to be much more effective in dealing with its impact, he said.
“It’s very clear we need to focus on short-term adaptation,” the premier said.
While the European Union should define and implement a comprehensive strategic plan, with the appropriate resources, to address the new challenges, the problem isn’t confined to Europe, Mitsotakis told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. Instead, a “global alliance for adaptation” should be created to help fund short-term adaptation projects.
Greece is already planning to double its budget reserves to cover natural disasters linked to climate change by increasing a levy on accommodation, a move that will mostly affect luxury hotels.
Read More: Greece to Boost Climate Disaster Funds With Hotel Tax Hike
Special reserves will increase from €300 million ($320 million) to €600 million by 2024 as the Greek administration looks to respond to a summer of extreme weather that saw the country battered by its biggest forest fires and floods in history.
Mitsotakis pledged that Greece won’t deviate from its plans to continue strengthening its fiscal position. A decade after the financial crisis that threatened to force Greece out of the euro, the government’s commitment to budget discipline is core to its strategy.
“We’ll be unapologetic about maintaining fiscal discipline,” he said.
(Updates with comment from Greek premier from second paragraph)
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