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MERKEL PUSHES FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
- By The Financial District
- Mar 4, 2021
- 2 min read
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for 'fundamental rethink' to protect the environment at the annual CDP Europe Awards 2021, according to Euronews.
The CDP event celebrates the companies and cities which are working to achieve greater sustainability and is hosted this year by the European Investment Bank and broadcast on Euronews.
In her keynote message, Merkel welcomed the European Commission's Green Deal pledge to make Europe climate neutral by 2050, but said that states also needed to act to create change.
We need "suitable incentives...to bring about the transformation towards climate neutrality," she said. The German leader added that CDP's system of disclosure of environmental impact allowed companies and municipalities to gain a 'competitive advantage'.
How cities see the road to 2030
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, and Turku mayor Minna Arve also took part in the online event, each contributing their views on how urban spaces should develop by 2030.
The leader of the French capital placed a strong focus on cycling in her discussion with the event host, Euronews' Chris Burns. "In 15-year we have cut greenhouse gases by a third. Bicycles symbolize this success, thanks to the 1,000 km of cycle paths we have," she said.
"Our goal is to make Paris a 100% cycling city, that's to say you can cycle safely anywhere," Hidalgo told Euronews.
Minna Arve, who heads the 800-year-old Finnish city of Turku, said the efforts to engage citizens in the sustainability choices being made were essential for success. "In the end it's about everyday choices of everyone in the city, so we have to encourage our citizens and companies as well," she stressed.
Athens mayor Bakoyannis discussed the efforts to 'green' the public spaces of the Greek capital. "It's up to us to build bottom-up solutions," he said.
"That will liberate 'quality' public space, adopt a new model of sustainable mobility, and make sure we change while retaining our soul."
