Brussels, 13/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 April, 40 European island politicians signed the “Pact of Islands” making the political commitment to achieve the 20-20-20 objectives of the European Union for 2020. This pact is an initiative parallel to the “Covenant of Mayors” and was part of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week.
Approximately 3.5% of the European citizens live on islands and this percentage increases significantly during the high tourism season, adding pressure to the islands' ecosystems, transport systems, energy systems and water requirements, says the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR). The Pact of Islands makes a number of significant commitments, such as to submit an Islands Sustainable Energy Action Plan, to develop a pipeline of bankable projects and mobilise sustainable energy investments. “The 30-month project will help make a significant contribution in achieving EU sustainable energy and climate change targets, such as the reduction of CO2 emissions by 20% or more and the improvement of energy efficiency by 20% or more by 2020”, said Alex MacDonald, Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Outer Hebrides, Scotland) and member of CPMR. The signed pact and a list of the signatories are available on: http://www.islepact.eu (L.C./transl.rt)