Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-13

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] There has to be a political reply to climate change, Mitsotakis says

[02] Three shot, one fatally, in incident near Omonia Square

[01] There has to be a political reply to climate change, Mitsotakis says

"Our stance cannot be one of indifference or only perfunctory compliance since the problem affects us directly," he said, noting that there must be a political answer to the problem of climate change.

Speaking at an event on "Climate change and new policies: international community, European Union and Greece," at the Constantine Karamanlis Institute for Democracy, Mitsotakis also stressed the need to boost what he called Greece's "anaemic" awareness of environmental issues.

"Climate change is an indisputable fact and the phenomenon is anthropogenic," Mitsotakis told his audience, outlining the effects that rising temperatures will have on the planet and calling for ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Achieving this goal is a global issue," he added, presenting the five main points of the Paris agreement, which he described as "exceptionally important".

Noting that such issues were unfortunately not discussed in Greece, ND's leader said he had served as chairman of the relevant committee in Parliament and that ND had helped dispel the myth that environmental sensitivity was the exclusive province of the left.

The main weakness of climate change agreements was the absence of mechanisms to impose sanctions, Mitsotakis noted, saying there had to be "a powerful momentum in order to put pressure of the leadership of countries." He also outlined the dire predictions about Greece.

"This discussion is particularly crucial in our country because we must understand that Greece is on the front line of countries threatened by climate change," he said, outlining a future with rising seas, more days of extreme heat and more frequent extreme weather events.

"The excessive borrowing of the previous generation has saddled the next generation with a disproportionate burden and we are seeing the equivalent phenomenon on the issue of the environment. We must understand that we are borrowing the environment from the next generation," he added, stressing that protecting the environment did not undermine growth.

"There are clearly areas where growth clashes with protection of the environment. Any comparative advantage that Greece possesses, however, is linked to the protection of our natural environment. The environment itself is our comparative advantage," ND's leader concluded.

[02] Three shot, one fatally, in incident near Omonia Square

The armed assault by an unidentified gunman took place on Zinonos Street near Omonia Square, shortly before 17:00 on Wednesday.

Based on witness accounts so far, the gunman may have been a foreign national that had earlier got into an argument with the 56-year-old as he was passing in front of a coffee shop in the area, claiming the victim had molested his wife. The assailant left and returned with a gun shortly afterward, which he used to shoot at the 56-year-old that later died in hospital. The bullets also injured a bystander that happened to be on the scene during the fight and a passer-by that found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police are currently conducting an investigation and searching to locate and arrest the shooter.

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