EU, UNDP plant 2,500 trees in Amiantos to offset carbon emissions

The European Union, the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday planted in Amiantos, Troodos, 2,500 trees to offset carbon emissions produced by the heritage conservation projects they have carried out.

“On average we estimate we have emitted 17 to 30 tons of carbon per project, depending on the magnitude of the works and distances covered from Nicosia. We used two parameters to calculate this: the carbon emitted from vehicles during supervision/monitoring activities and our electricity consumption on sites”, said Tiziana Zennaro, UNDP Senior Programme Manager and Head of Office, according to a press release.

The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the European Commission and the UNDP estimated that 2,500 trees will offset about 500 tons of carbon produced during the implementation of the projects, the press release added.

“Nature is an integral part of our cultural heritage. Climate change, through temperature increases, changes in precipitation patterns, and increased frequencies of extreme weather events is impacting our daily lives and, of course, the life of our cultural heritage” said Ali Tuncay and Takis Hadjidemetriou, from the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. “Of course, we are not going to fix this with 2,500 trees, but with this event we are bridging for the first time our natural and cultural heritage and we are opening up to new partnerships so that cultural and natural heritage can play a louder role in advocating for our island’s sustainable development”.

Kjartan Björnsson, head of unit of the EU Cyprus Settlement Support noted that “planting 2,500 trees in Troodos is a small action. The EU has consistently set the pace in tackling climate change and encouraging moves towards a low-carbon economy”.