In the three-day congress held last month in Nicosia, gathering more than 800 participants from 41 countries, the representative of Cyprus was Anthi Charalambous, the director of Cyprus Energy Agency (CEA). She presented the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and transition towards renewable sources of energy, In-Cyprus reported.
Municipal authorities achieved a reduction of 23% in carbon dioxide emissions in five years in all sectors of activities, Charalambous told the Cyprus Weekly. The data is provided from CEA records for 2009-2014.
The crisis made inhabitants and corporations more aware of the wasting of energy, she said. The island country relies on imports in order to meet its energy needs and has one of the highest energy dependence rates among European Union member countries, according to Energy Sector Dynamics report drafted by EY Cyprus. Energy imports were 7.1% of the country’s GDP in 2013. The rise in production of energy from renewable sources contributed to a decrease in energy imports in 2014. Generation increased in recent years at the local level, due to measures taken by the municipalities. Renewable energy production rose from 3 GWh in total for 2009 to 12.1 GWh in 2014.
It is estimated that more than 92% of households and 52% of hotels have solar water heating systems, while electric vehicle charging stations have been installed in 15 selected points in public places covering the whole of Cyprus.
Transportation has the highest final energy consumption, 52%, followed by the housing sector, with 23%, Charalambous pointed out. She added the services sector consumes 17%, while the industry spends 6%. Municipalities joined CEA in a project for LED lamps to replace 56,000 conventional bulbs, which will reduce current emissions by around 48%, said Charalambous.
