The need for a global commitment when dealing with climate change and trying to adjust to the new situation was underlined by Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis on Wednesday referring to the imminent UN Climate Chance Conference in Cancun in December.

Addressing the 2nd Economist Sustainability Summit “The green agenda after Copenhagen”, Kouvelis underlined the Greek government's actions on a regional level in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

“The Black Sea turns green” is the initiative undertaken by the Greek BSEC (Black Sea Economic Cooperation) Chairmanship, he said, adding that a relevant joint declaration will be issued in the upcoming meeting of BSEC Foreign Ministers on Nov. 26.

Kouvelis referred to the initiatives for the Mediterranean and stated that Prime Minister George Papandreou will unveil on Friday the “Initiative for the Climate Change in the Mediterranean”. He stressed that the actions undertaken “give our region - among the most vulnerable worldwide to the climate change - a strong voice in the Cancun conference.

Commenting on the “unfortunate” development, as he described it, of the cancellation of an Astakos investment, he stated that “on an inter-state level all necessary procedures were set in motion to ensure that there would be no delays in the licensing of the project, but no agreement was reached among the investors. Greece has and will continue to have the role of an energy hub in SE Europe.”

Earlier, Kouvelis had told reporters that the disagreement that led to the cancellation of the deal concerned the rates that would have been charged for the electricity produced in the specific plant.

He also stated that the government has the obligation to create the appropriate institutional and investment environment, which was done and acknowledged but, on the other hand, the private investors will have to assume their share of responsibility as well.