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Environmental information systems
The Cyprus country profile provides a concise overview of key trends across three dimensions: environment and climate; socio-economic change; and system change (energy, mobility and food) in the country. It highlights the main developments and challenges in these areas, including measures to support progress towards sustainability in Cyprus. An assessment for each of the three dimensions was prepared by national experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) in Cyprus, based on 20 established indicators from the EEA or Eurostat.
The country profile for Cyprus serves as an in-depth analysis of its environmental performance and the socioeconomic transformations driving its green transition. The data indicate key environmental trends, including significant increases in organic farming and renewable energy implementation, the latter driven primarily by investments in solar energy technology. In terms of waste management, the data give an idea of both the progress made and the challenges ahead. Although overall waste generation per capita has decreased over the past decade, Cyprus continues to face issues with high levels of municipal waste production and low recycling rates. Cyprus is responding to climate change through mitigation measures and sustainable land use practices, but its energy sector remains highly dependent on fossil fuels. The implementation of sustainable mobility measures targets the reduction of emissions from the transport sector through the minimisation of reliance on private vehicles and the promotion of behavioural shifts with regard to public and active transportation. The socioeconomic dimensions of the green transition and systemic changes in the food, energy and mobility sectors are also analysed, and Cyprus’s commitment to aligning with EU sustainability targets while addressing local challenges to build a resilient, low-carbon and resource-efficient future is emphasised.
Key trends and assessments
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Summary assessment
Cyprus has achieved notable progress with regard to multiple environmental aspects, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and aligning with EU directives. Protected areas under the Natura 2000 network cover 29.5% of the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus as of 2025, meeting EU biodiversity targets. The land use, land use change and forestry sector, representing a greenhouse gas sink, is generally following an upward trend in sink capacity, helping emission levels move towards the national target. However, increasing desertification and forest fire incidents disrupt carbon sink capacities, particularly in the land use area. Air quality is improving, with a 45% reduction in premature deaths related to particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) since 2005, although short-term events like desert dust storms remain under-addressed in health assessments.
Despite this progress, challenges persist. Greenhouse gas emissions in sectors like energy and transport present hurdles, particularly due to the reliance on fossil fuels, with energy contributing 71.4% of emissions. Renewable energy sources now account for 19.43% of gross energy consumption, driven by investments in solar energy, and targets are in place for further increases. Waste management remains critical, with high levels of municipal waste production and low recycling rates. The circular material use rate has improved slightly, hitting 3.4% in 2020, but lags behind the EU average of 12.8%. The adoption of circular economy policies and measures aims to bridge this gap. Organic farming has seen significant growth, expanding to represent 8% of cultivated land, surpassing the 2025 target of 7.5%.
Cyprus’s systemic changes in the energy, food and mobility sectors underscore a shift towards a green transition. Continued investment in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and intelligent transport systems, alongside behaviour-driven initiatives like reducing car dependence, are vital for a resilient, low-carbon future.
The green transition creates many opportunities in the labour market in the form of new jobs and new businesses. Employment in the environmental goods and services sector in Cyprus was higher than the EU-27 average in 2021. Significant efforts are being made to promote employment in the sector, with employment counsellors encouraging jobseekers to make career choices that are in sync with the green transition, giving them information about emerging jobs and the steps they must take to acquire skills relevant to the changing labour market. Training and development for the population of Cyprus provide employed and unemployed people with opportunities to acquire new or upgrade existing knowledge and skills that are in line with the green transition, so that the workforce remains competitive relevant in the changing job market.
Despite the effects of the 2013 economic crisis on Cyprus, the amount of money allocated to the governmental grant for higher education has not decreased. It remained the same until 2016, and since 2017 has been gradually increased. However, the number of students at Cypriot higher education institutions rapidly increased from 32 824 in the 2013/2014 academic year to 51 086 in the 2018/2019 academic year. This is mainly due to the establishment of a considerable number of private higher education institutions in Cyprus. As a result, the public expenditure on education per student in higher education in Cyprus appeared to diminish during 2012–2019.
A dedicated study financed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support aimed to redetermine and calculate the level of energy poverty in Cyprus and propose the optimum mix of measures to alleviate it. The analysis of energy-poor households in Cyprus reveals that these households include individuals such as pensioners (31%), single parents (4%), families with children (22%) and people employed but with lowincome wages. Energy poverty in Cyprus affects 50 290 households (15.1% of the total), and there is a national target to reduce this by 10% by 2030. Additional measures to reduce energy poverty and assist other vulnerable groups will include social, structural, informational and administrative initiatives, and energy-saving actions like funding schemes for upgrading households and installing photovoltaic systems.
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The food system
The Cypriot government, in the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, follows all the necessary procedures for the withdrawal of plant protection products (PPPs) containing active substances that have been withdrawn from the EU.
In addition, based on Directive 2009/128/EC, the national action plan for the rational use of PPs has been implemented with the aim of promoting integrated plant protection and developing legislation for the rational use of PPPs.
According to data from the past decade, Cyprus shows a decrease in Harmonised Risk Indicator 1 with regard to the annual quantities of active substances available on the market and the risk-weighting factor of each active substance contained in the PPPs.
The energy system
Cyprus’s updated national energy and climate plan (NECP) outlines policies to meet the EU’s renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. The focus is on increasing renewable energy sources (RESs) in the electricity, heating, cooling and transport sectors and reducing energy consumption through key targeted measures that will help Cyprus meet its 2030 climate and energy goals using a mix of renewable energy, efficiency measures and infrastructure development.
Electricity generation needs to shift to low-carbon sources such as renewables, and power grids need to expand their capacity and flexibility. Technological advances capable of replacing technologies or processes that use fossil fuels are now emerging, and energy storage is also of high importance, as it reduces the carbon footprint of electricity generation.
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a reliable way of displaying the energy status of an existing building and recording recommendations for upgrading it. A qualified expert issues the EPC using approved software that simulates the national methodology for calculating the energy performance of buildings. The EPC provides an assessment of the primary energy use for heating, cooling, domestic hot water, ventilation and lighting, and rates the building in an energy class. The information it provides can be used to prompt renovation when a building is sold or leased to a new tenant.
Support schemes to promote the installation of RES technologies for self-consumption have led to a significant increase in RESs in Cyprus. By the end of 2023, the installed capacity of RES systems for self-consumption reached 47% of the total installed capacity of RESs for electricity purposes. The remainder (53%) is for commercial RES projects. Other support schemes provide grants for energy upgrades in households, enterprises and the public sector.
The national energy efficiency and RES targets for 2020 and 2030, as set by EU directives, have already had a positive impact by contributing to a greener energy system. The updated NECP sets the new and more ambitious national targets for RESs and energy efficiency and outlines the policies and measures put in place to achieve them, integrating relevant new legislation from the Fit for 55 package. Based on the new NECP, Cyprus will achieve a 33.17% share of RESs in gross final energy consumption by 2030 and will also achieve all obligatory sectoral sub-targets. Moreover, as a national indicative contribution to the European energy efficiency target, Cyprus’s final energy consumption in 2030 will not exceed 1.8 Mtoe and the primary energy consumption will not exceed 2.1 Mtoe. In addition, the national mandatory target for cumulative energy savings of 349 040 toe in end use by 2030 will also be achieved, with 15.1% of this target to be achieved through measures taken to benefit energy-poor households and other vulnerable groups.
The mobility system
Based on the current shares of transport modes, it seems the established mobility habits and lifestyles of Cypriots involve a profound dependence on private cars for commuting. Therefore, the greatest challenges, as well as the greatest social and behavioural changes emerging on the island, are the embrace of alternative modes of transport and the establishment of sustainable mobility. This strong dependence on cars, along with limited governmental prioritisation of and low stakeholder engagement in the efforts to achieve change, contributes to commuters’ resistance and makes the implementation of plans for sustainable mobility more challenging.
The main innovations and technological changes that have emerged to support the introduction of sustainable mobility are intelligent transportation systems. The systems implemented in Cyprus primarily involve traffic monitoring, incident recording and management, congestion prevention, road safety enhancement and the planning of freight movement, including the transportation of hazardous goods. A telematics system for public buses has been in place since 2014 to improve the quality of public transport services. Electromobility is promoted for the government vehicle fleet, as well as for private vehicles, through a set of measures included in the general policy framework for the promotion of electric vehicle use of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works. In the policy framework, there are, among others, measures for the replacement of the public fleet with electric vehicles (EVs) and subsidy schemes to incentivise the purchase of new EVs by individuals. Regarding the charging infrastructure for EVs, there is a subsidy scheme called ‘Electric mobility with 1 000’ for the installation of EV charging stations.
In 2024, green taxation was introduced in Cyprus. It is a fiscally neutral tax aiming to limit the negative environmental impact of certain sectors of the economy and promote climate neutrality. Specifically, in the transport sector, carbon taxation begun in 2024, and it is expected to generate revenues of around EUR 52 million for 2024, EUR 74 million for 2025 and EUR 104 million for 2026. These revenues will be returned to citizens through compensatory measures, such as investments in green projects and support for vulnerable households.
In addition to green taxation, an amendment has been introduced to the Motor Vehicles and Traffic Act concerning the tax levied on vehicles, with a view to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Furthermore, the Determination of Special Measures for the Reduction of Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas from Road Transport Act is a reform aiming to create the necessary legal basis for measures related to the road network and vehicle traffic to reduce the environmental impact of road transport.
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