anticipation of the adoption of the new legally
binding instrument that will succeed the Kyoto
Protocol in 2015.
Finally, the Greek presidency will continue follow-
ing up the implementation of the decisions
reached by the international community at the
“Rio+20” United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, which was held in
June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will also
continue the EU’s preparation for the post-2015
period, which will coincide with the completion of
the realization of the Millennium Development
Goals (2000-2015) and the beginning of the real-
ization of the Sustainable Development Goals
(2015-2030), which concern all countries, irrespec-
tive of level of growth, and are meant to alleviate
poverty through sustainable development, green
economy and the efficient use of natural resources.
In regard to organizing and hosting meetings during
the Greek presidency, the MINENV, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shall organize
and host a limited number of events in Athens
(Zappeion Hall), such as the Informal Meeting of
Environment Ministers, along with the Informal
Meeting of Energy Ministers (May 22-24, 2014),
the Meeting of Water Directors and the Meeting of
Forest Directors. It will also host the Informal
Meetings of the Working Party on the
Environment and the Working Party on
International Environment Issues of Climate
Change of the Council of the EU.
In order to ensure that the MINENV and its
Departments are prepared to deal with issues
pertaining to the environment, sustainable devel-
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