Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis steps up efforts to tackle the effects of the global climate crisis by swiftly moving to phase out coal-fired power plants.

“We said we would do it by 2028,” Mitsotakis said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday, referring to his government’s target for closing the plants. “I think it will be possible to do it by 2025.”

Mitsotakis asked European allies to accelerate their efforts to address climate change after record-high temperatures in the summer sparked a series of blazes in the country, scorching forests, farmland and populated areas.

Now the continent is also battling the hike in energy prices, with the spectre of unmanageable utility bills for some households and businesses.

“We have made a commitment to support electricity users in Greece,” Mitsotakis said. “We are doing it by providing state funding but also encouraging electricity producers to absorb part of the cost increase.”

As a result, Greeks “will not see significant increases in electricity bills in the next three to six months”, he pledged.