Tsipras on World Environment Day: fire in Athens suburbs a bad start to the summer

"Unfortunately, this is not a day of celebration," Tsipras said. "This year's summer has started badly. An initial small fire within the urban boundaries has destroyed dozens of homes and was very close to becoming uncontrollable in size. The excuse that state mechanisms were taken by surprise in the face of the permanent threat of the climate crisis can no longer serve as an alibi for a country that wants to go forward," he said.

He also expressed concern that "behind the ponderous announcements and the creation of a climate crisis ministry there is the same inadequacy, the same lack of coordination, of a state mechanism that has been unable for some time now to meet the requirements. I hope I am proved wrong but, regardless, this time there are no excuses."

Concluding, Tsipras noted that "the climate crisis is here and dealing with it has to be at the core of our policies and our daily battles. It is the personal obligation of every one of us toward our children and our political obligation to the next generations that we don't keep them trapped in an unlivable future. We must use every means and every moment to bequeath to the children that are born today a viable planet on which to live."