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Cyprus’s Rising Emissions: A Critical Call for Strategic Energy Reform

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

Overview Of The Alarming Trend

Recent Eurostat data from the 2025 Key Figures on Europe edition reveals a stark anomaly: Cyprus is the sole European Union member recording an increase in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels. While the EU has achieved an overall reduction of approximately 37%, Cyprus has experienced an almost 50% surge in emissions—a trend that not only highlights a failure to adapt to European environmental policies but also underscores a lack of cohesive national strategy.

Underlying Causes And Risk Factors

A combination of systemic shortcomings and delayed policy responses underpins this upward trajectory. In the electricity generation sector, Cyprus remains overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels. According to Eurostat’s 2023 energy dependency index, more than 90% of the island’s energy needs are met through imports, placing Cyprus among the most reliant EU nations. This vulnerability is compounded by the absence of significant interconnection with other EU countries, limiting the nation’s ability to adopt smarter, cleaner energy solutions.

Challenges In Renewable Integration

Despite a gradual increase in installed renewable capacity, the lack of storage infrastructure and grid flexibility has severely restricted the penetration of solar and other renewable energies into the national grid. In contrast, several Southern European counterparts have successfully integrated high levels of renewables by deploying smart grids and large-scale storage projects. The delayed digitalization and modernization of Cyprus’s energy network directly contribute to higher per kilowatt-hour emissions compared to the European average.

Transportation Sector Stagnation

Cyprus’s transportation system further exacerbates the problem. An overreliance on private vehicles, coupled with inefficient public transit and sluggish adoption of electric mobility—driven by high costs and an underdeveloped charging infrastructure—has resulted in escalating emissions from transport. Meanwhile, other EU states have implemented robust support programs for fleet upgrades and charging infrastructure expansion, yielding significant emission reductions.

Policy Inertia And Missed Opportunities

Fragmented and short-term policy approaches have deepened Cyprus’s challenges. Without long-term institutional planning, the country has struggled to sustain investments in clean technology, from the delayed utility of natural gas as a transitional fuel to the inconsistent adoption of renewable energy projects incorporating storage and smart management solutions. These gaps have resulted in a series of missed opportunities, ultimately leaving Cyprus trailing behind its EU peers in meeting climate targets.

Pathways To A Sustainable Future

Reversing this adverse trend requires coordinated and decisive reforms. Natural gas could serve as a temporary bridge, provided its use is embedded within a coherent decarbonization strategy. The completion of the terminal FSRU in Vasiliko offers a chance to reduce emissions; however, it must be integrated into a long-term plan to phase out carbon reliance.

Accelerating Renewable Energy And Grid Modernization

A robust strategy must extend beyond simply boosting renewable capacity. Investment in both large and small-scale storage solutions, smart grid technologies, and streamlined permitting processes is critical. Furthermore, the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project, which links Cyprus to the broader European grid, is of strategic importance—not merely as a transmission asset, but as a catalyst that can enhance energy security, facilitate higher renewable penetration, and lower system balancing costs.

Complementary Measures And Institutional Continuity

Complementary measures, including the expansion of charging networks, incentives for electric fleets, and the promotion of alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biofuels, are essential. Equally important are digitalization initiatives—smart meters, consumption platforms, and digital twins—that can optimize efficiency and reduce wastage.

Long-Term Strategic Roadmap

For Cyprus to transition successfully, a comprehensive Energy Transition Roadmap out to 2050 is paramount. Such a plan must define clear priorities, integrate a robust decarbonization strategy within the national framework, and ensure institutional continuity irrespective of political shifts. This approach will transform current deficits into opportunities for technological innovation, enhanced energy security, and greater environmental sustainability.

Women Make Up A Majority Of The EU’s Science And Technology Workforce But The Real Gap Is Elsewhere

by News Editor

Women now make up the majority of the EU’s science and technology workforce. According to Eurostat, in 2025, more than 81.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were employed in science and technology occupations across the EU. Of those, 52.5% were women, equal to 42.8 million women. The number of women in these occupations rose by 27.9% compared with 2015, an increase of more than 9.3 million over a decade.

On the surface, the numbers resemble progress. However, Eurostat’s category requires context before that figure can be read accurately. The data refers to HRST, or Human Resources in Science and Technology, specifically people employed in science and technology occupations. These are roles where the main tasks require professional or technical knowledge in physical and life sciences, but also in social sciences and humanities. That definition is wider and broader than engineering, ICT, laboratory science, or high-tech research alone.

Zooming In

The gender picture changes once the data moves from a wider definition of the workforce to the narrower scientist-and-engineer (research and manufacturing) subgroup.

Scientists and engineers represented almost a quarter of all people employed in science and technology in the EU in 2025. Eurostat describes scientists and engineers as often being the innovators at the centre of technology-led development, making them an important subgroup to focus on separately.

Women accounted for only 40.8% of scientists and engineers in 2025, despite making up more than half of the wider category. That share has increased by a mere 0.5 percentage points over the past decade. The absolute number of women working as scientists and engineers rose from 5.3 million in 2015 to 8.2 million in 2025, despite the push from national and international organisations to increase the number of women in the field. Europe has expanded the number of women in science and technology occupations over ten years. However, that expansion has not extended equally into the scientist-and-engineer subgroup, where much of Europe’s research and innovation work is conducted.

In 2025, of the 39.4 million women aged 25 to 64 working in science and technology occupations in the EU, 35.5 million worked in service activities. Only 2.7 million worked in manufacturing. Women accounted for 57.5% of science and technology employment in services, but only 31.3% in manufacturing.

In 2025, the highest shares of women employed in science and technology occupations were recorded in Latvia at 62.4%, followed by Hungary’s Great Plain and North region at 61.1%, Estonia at 60.5%, Poland’s Central macroregion at 60.4%, and Lithuania at 60.3%. No EU country recorded a majority of women among science and technology workers in manufacturing.

Break-down

Eurostat’s figures measure employment in broad science and technology occupations. They do not show job security, pay levels, management roles, promotion rates, research leadership, or whether women are concentrated in junior or senior workplace positions.

The classification of “senior” also requires additional explanation. Eurostat reports that 45.9% of science and technology workers aged 25 to 64 in the EU were classified as “senior” HRST in 2025. In this dataset, “senior” refers to workers aged 45 to 64. It does not mean senior manager, senior researcher, team lead, or decision-maker.

A high female share in the wider Human Resource Science and Technology (HRST) category does not parallel equal representation across scientists, engineers, manufacturing roles, senior posts, pay, research funding, or decision-making. These figures also reflect the occupational mix inside each country or region, not only structural progress across all areas of science and technology.

The Case Of Cyprus

Eurostat data places Cyprus’s overall science and technology employment at 37.2% of the labour force in 2025, slightly above the EU-27 figure of 36.9%, and above Greece at 26.8%, Malta at 33.9%, and Turkey at 18.2%. This figure covers the total share of the labour force employed in science and technology across all genders.

Progress Or Work-in-Progress?

52.5% in the broad category. 40.8% among scientists and engineers. 31.3% in manufacturing. Europe’s gender gap in science and technology hasn’t closed yet, and there is still work to be done to encourage and support more women to enter the field, especially in research and manufacturing.

Let’s not wait another decade for another couple of percentage points of hope.

Uol
Aretilaw firm
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