Marina Neophytou, Dean of the Polytechnic Faculty of University of Cyprus, believes that the extraction of natural gas in Cyprus should happen only under conditions of cooperation between the two communities.
She said that “the only reason I would be positive about natural gas extraction in Cyprus would be if this action was used as an “investment” in peace in Cyprus. Only if it was considered a synergy, a field for the development of cooperation of common benefit of the two communities in Cyprus. If we see this issue as a field of competition and display of dominance, then we will only make “a hole in the water”.
Meanwhile she urged that Akamas has a special significance for Cyprus and possible damages and mistakes will not be reversible.
About Cyprus’ main environmental, and not only, problems we discussed with Marina Neophytou, Dean of the Polytechnic Faculty of University of Cyprus, in an exclusive interview she granted to Voice International.
Question: Let’s start with something topical. Lately there has been a lot of discussion about the projects in Akamas. Various questions arise, both from environmental organizations and political parties. Can there be a balance in the relationship between environmental protection and urban development?
Marina: I would pose the question on two levels. One is the philosophical level – ie how much a development can include the protection of nature – a question that inevitably includes a value consideration. And the other, regardless of how one sets the bar on the 1st level-question is whether and how the state can ensure that it can practically implement all that it plans – votes – decides on the implementation of all these required plans that derive from the 1st level answer. That is, what we will still theoretically aim for is, inevitably, dependent on the ability of each state to ensure compliance with the licensing conditions of the proposed projects during their implementation. Project plans and decisions do not exist in a socio-political vacuum – the complexity of the society to which they are intended and addressed must be taken seriously. I speak in general without yet referring to Akamas, because Akamas has a very important specificity and importance for Cyprus – due to its precious biodiversity.
The issue is for the state to be able to ensure compliance with the conditions it imposes for the licensing of development projects. If they practically have no countermeasures, that is, if a licensing will not have the required supervision by the state and is actually accompanied by a huge tolerance for deviations in the implementation process in reality from the originally planned project, this obviously affects the confidence of the citizens in the relevant capacity of the state. Cases such as Akama’s and many others are important examples of state writing. And because within the framework of a participatory democracy, public consultation on important projects is not only nominally necessary, but also essential, regaining the trust of the citizens in the relevant state institutions is the only way for the state. A shocking example is the case of the asphalt factories in Dali. It is decided, in political terms, to move to 3 new candidate areas. The question of the affected communities and citizens is whether the state can ensure that all the mistakes that have been made in Dali are not repeated, transferring the problem to another region. What has changed to expect something different?
With the current situation in Akamas, the state is essentially confirming the fears of the citizens. Akamas is truly a super-precious wealth as far as the biodiversity of Cyprus is concerned. Mistakes we can make today will not be reversible, that is why the state must be strict in the faithful implementation of the terms.
Question: There are various areas, where from time-to-time residents have complained about the air quality due to the presence of industrial areas and factories next to residential areas. How can we get rid of and avoid such issues in the future?
Marina: The development in research and technology in the field of Environmental Engineering has given us several solutions and proposals for the polluting processes, to either trap the pollutants harmful to health and ensure a healthy environment for humans and nature. But, again, the issue of degree of consistency comes into play. If, for example, industries do not change necessary filters as often as they should, because they have relatively high costs, and they reach a point where they take years, block everything and end up being like an open chimney, and the state cannot ensure the compliance of industries to laws and conditions, we simply make a “hole in the water”. So any actions to prevent pollution in the environment end up being pretentious. This is where “surgical” interventions are needed in the governance system.
Question: Have any targets been set for the use of filters in industries, as they have been set for the issue of the use of RES and the reduction of pollutants?
Marina: Very apt question! Usually within the urban environment, within the residential areas, we regulate these issues by monitoring the quality of the ambient air, measuring the concentrations of pollutants that are harmful to human health. So tracking how much these concentrations change or fluctuate is one way to see the overall impact of any pollution sources. And obviously factories are not the only sources of pollution. E.g. Cars are also a very important source of pollution, especially in urban environments. And there are far more pollutants than we track. In particular, the EU has set a goal in residential areas to monitor specific pollutants, such as e.g. Suspended particles, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, etc. and to adhere to specific safe limits, e.g. as annual averages, daily averages, which also reflect the dynamic nature of concentrations and so on. The selection of certain pollutants to monitor, among many, is determined by the fact that in populated areas, one would expect to detect only those produced by normal urban activities, and not by heavy industrial activities. Therefore, this is where the question of urban planning comes in… when and how can a heavy industrial zone end up meeting a fully and normally, residential area…? One such case is Dali… I don’t know how, but it is a fact that we were faced with the existence of a normally developed residential area next to an industrial zone. Something that should not happen under any circumstances in this form, because it also carries a risk (of accidents) that a heavy industry generally has.
These industrial activities obviously produce some other pollutants, which must be monitored by the state in the context of ensuring public health, especially due to industrial activity. For example, the volatile organic compounds that have a relatively high cost to monitor them, you encounter them more strongly where you have industrial plants related to asphalt, petroleum derivatives, etc. Under normal circumstances, in a residential area, where you don’t have this kind of industrial activity, you wouldn’t expect to have high concentrations so you don’t usually or at least constantly monitor them. Something similar happened in Dali… This is what we found as a research team when we got involved in the subject of the problem. Reading an article in a daily newspaper and watching a TV show about the problem, I realized that we had on the one hand, the strong protests of the residents and on the other hand, a public department that said there is no problem. Can both be true? What we found was that the Department of Labor Inspection was not measuring the specific pollutants produced by the factory on the grounds that it was only measuring the sub-group of pollutants expected to be found in residential urban areas and not industrial ones…so it was concluded that there is no problem . Of course, after our recommendations, the DLI proceeded with all the pollutant measurements that we had indicated as appropriate.
Question: In Cyprus we take it for granted that every person equals a car. The issue is indeed complex and multifaceted. It also concerns urban planning, the infrastructure for the use of public transport, etc. As Cyprus, what phase are we in? Can we make the leap to using renewable energy vehicles?
Marina: In the question you touched on a part that is the heart of the solution, namely that it is a complex and multifaceted issue. It does not depend on a single factor, where we could intervene much more easily. It’s a multi-factorial issue and a lot of things have to happen at the same time for a proposal to actually work and make that leap. At the end of the day what is that leap we want to take? Avoiding the private car should indeed be a real option for citizens. To be able to use alternative means of transportation and, by extension, to reduce greenhouse gases. Traffic is one of the most important factors, responsible for 40-45% of the greenhouse gases that Cyprus produces and we must reduce them by 2030 and reach zero by 2055. So, by 2030 with the rate we’re going we won’t get the desired results. There are two levels, one is to ask the question of what the alternative modes of transportation are. Can we create public transport that is truly the choice? That is, to really connect different places in a practical way without causing you huge delays, to have reliable itineraries as far as transit time is concerned, to be able to inform the world in real time about where the bus is, etc. All these things the citizen must feel that they are there before he starts choosing them… the citizen must feel that he has a good and above all reliable service in his hands.
Even if we keep using private cars. Is the hybrid car or the electric car a solution? The cost is so prohibitive that you cannot expect these solutions to come from people on their own. Also, even if we were to subsidize electric cars, which do not directly use conventional fuels (eg petrol, diesel) but electricity. Where will we produce this energy to give it to the cars? If we electrify them from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus(EAC) which burns fuel oil, what we do is the following, we continue to produce the same pollutants, the same amount of greenhouse gases, we simply transfer the production and diffusion of pollutants from the city to the chimney of the EAC. But the generation of pollutants remains the same. So the issue is not only to go to electric cars, to put charging points everywhere in Cyprus, to give support so that people can buy them. But, the important thing is that much of the electrification should at least be cleaner. This is why it is important for the EAC to switch from the use of fuel oil to the use of natural gas as a cleaner fuel. And of course this, only as a transition… and this has an expiry date… which we don’t seem to realize… we are discussing the eventual use of natural gas in Cyprus as being the permanently appropriate…
For me, as an Environmental Engineer, the only reason I would be positive about natural gas extraction in Cyprus would be if this action was used as an “investment” in peace in Cyprus. Only if it was considered a synergy, a field for the development of cooperation of common benefit of the two communities in Cyprus. If we see this issue as a field of competition and display of dominance, then we will only make “a hole in the water” – literally and figuratively! Because it creates more tension in the region and for the fact that actually the extraction of natural gas will not be tested over time within the framework of the EU’s goals – only in the transition period for which we can use natural gas – in 2030-2050. However, at the rate we are moving forward, I am not sure if when we are really able to make the natural gas available for use from the EEZ of Cyprus, its demand in Europe will still be tested. Now indeed in several countries in Europe the prices of natural gas are very high because there is a great demand. We are not yet able to go into operation from fully renewables because we do not have the technological infrastructure that can store the required amounts of renewable energy. So we are going as a transitional stage to semi-clean energy with the use of natural gas but for a period of time. The technology will be developed by 2050. In Europe we are on the right track, in Cyprus we hope… . So, the use of natural gas, at least within the European sphere, has an expiry date. We have to take into account that due to the area in which we are at great depths, the process of extracting natural gas in Cyprus is very expensive and not very competitive in selling price, at least in Europe…. So, the only reason it could be in demand, is precisely in this period of time where all European countries within the EU, due to the European Green Deal, are asking for natural gas as a transitional stage, until the full transition to renewables… Later, of course, only in the Asian market could it be tradable…but this requires a similar infrastructure for transportation.
In conclusion, and I may go back to the political dimension again, but everything is generally political, inevitably…: meanwhile, the Cypriot government sees the extraction of natural gas as yet another political field to demonstrate its sovereignty and therefore becomes a field of tension in relationship with Turkey, instead as a field with a political philosophy of common benefit, and therefore strengthening peaceful coexistence on the island, we will not move forward.
Question: Based on the above-mentioned issues, the further need for academic specialization in environmental issues can be seen. Does your department have plans for the future?
Marina: Precisely, identifying these problems in Cyprus and the institutional upgrade we need for Environmental Engineering, the University of Cyprus and especially our Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Polytechnic Faculty, is pleased to announce that the new undergraduate study program in Environmental Engineering, which will start next September 2024, has been accredited. It is the only undergraduate program in Environmental Engineering offered in Cyprus at the moment which comes at a time when ETEK has created an autonomous engineering specialty with corresponding distinct rights in ETEK. Very important development! It was a demand of our students for so many years, but also a recognized need from the multi-level environmental problems we encounter in society… It is a milestone.
Kallis Antounas-Voice International 2023
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