Climate Justice
Along with the vision, the values and the strategy of FoE Europe and FoE International, FoE Cyprus campaign for climate justice, both locally and regionally and for Cyprus to do our fair share to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by adhering to the science. We aim to address the climate crisis, while making sure that we progress towards equity. Climate justice demands that the transition in Cyprus should not leave anyone behind.
Along with the vision, the values and the strategy of FoE Europe and FoE International, FoE Cyprus campaign for climate justice, both locally and regionally and for Cyprus to do our fair share to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by adhering to the science. We aim to address the climate crisis, while making sure that we progress towards equity. Climate justice demands that the transition in Cyprus should not leave anyone behind.
Clean Energy
The goal for climate justice is unattainable without addressing the main contributor to climate change: fossil fuels. Replacing all forms of fossil fuels with sustainable renewable energy is a main goal for Friends of the Earth Cyprus for 2030. Moreover, energy should be affordable and accessible to all, catering to local community needs. We are promoting community-owned and community-managed renewable energy to ensure energy production respects the environment and people’s rights. We aim to eradicate energy poverty and block large-scale infrastructure for false solutions that exacerbate geopolitical tensions and social inequalities.
Zero Waste
“Zero Waste” is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse and recovery of products, packaging and materials without burning, and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.
The “Zero Waste Cities” approach is a continuous effort at the local administration level to phase out waste – not by burning or landfilling it – but instead by creating and implementing systems that do not generate waste in the first place. Municipalities that commit to and implement concrete steps towards becoming zero waste work for the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse and recovery of products, packaging and materials.
Friends of the Earth works with local communities and cities in Cyprus for the adoption drastic and holistic measures for waste prevention, all while raising public awareness towards the adoption of smarter lifestyles and sustainable consumption patterns in line with “circular” resource management.
Food Sovereignty
Food Sovereignty supports sustainable food systems and local communities. It deals with the mechanisms and the policies that govern our food chain and the rights that arise from this process. People who produce, distribute, and consume food have the right to control the food system instead of the market players who currently dominate it.
As part of our vision, we are actively involved in the empowerment of local groups and communities, we act to increase the awareness of citizens, and we educate policy makers on topics relating to food sovereignty and agroecology. Enhancing our collaboration with international networks that work on the topic, such as Friends of the Earth Europe and International and La Via Campesina, in the coming years, is of high importance for achieving food sovereignty.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety and variability of plant and animal life of a habitat or the entire Earth. Protecting biodiversity is extremely important for preserving a resilient ecosystem, since the survival of plants and animals depend on it. Anthropogenic factors threaten extinction of millions of species, resulting into a biodiversity crisis. Deforestation, construction of dams, overfishing, plastic pollution and invasive species contribute into this crisis. The rapid changes in climate are further scary since species could be unable to adapt to the rapid changes. Natural extinction time allows new species to be created. Nevertheless, the extinction rate is hundreds of times faster than how it should have naturally been. Multiple species have been marked as endangered and protected and if all these species go extinct then we may face the next mass extinction in the next 240-540 years.