Greece will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 16.6% over the period 2008-2012, Environment Minister George Souflias said Monday.
According Souflias, greenhouse gas emissions for the period will total 345.6 million tons of carbon dioxide for existing polluters, plus an additional 16.7 million tons of CO2 as a reserve for yet-to-be-built industrial facilities.
"With this national program, we will proceed with a 16.6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions affecting 152 industrial facilities over the period 2008-2012," Souflias said in a statement.
Late last year, Greece initially had proposed a reduction of 8.9% in greenhouse gas emissions over the program period. But it raised that target after the European Union called for a 20% cut by 2020 as part of the bloc's Kyoto protocol commitments.
According to Souflias, the five-year program, combined with other measures such as promoting renewable energy and boosting public transport among other things, will allow Greece to surpass its Kyoto protocol commitments.