Environment is a matter of political will: The Greece’s case

Greece claims to have an ambitious climate policy in line with regulations and the targets set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, and the EU Green Deal. The reality is that most of the climate promises turn out to be a lot of hot air.

Through its National Adaptation Strategy which is active since 2016, Greece proposes actions for climate adaptation and resilience, such as installing smart networks for demand-side management, incorporating measures into energy infrastructure planning, and conducting vulnerability assessments for energy networks and facilities. It also suggests regional Adaptation Action Plans which include climate change vulnerability and impact assessments to identify vulnerability hotspots, as well as actions for energy sector adaptation.

I am not a scientist, nor a politician to evaluate the arrangements and commitments of each government, but as a citizen, I cannot but admit that we experience a different reality. If all these plans were in place, then why is Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece with more than 1 million inhabitants, not yet having a new and reliable public transport system but only a limited number of outdated buses that release toxic emissions in the already burdened Thessaloniki’s atmosphere?

Why is it that every time it rains houses become flooded? Why are coasts swallowed by the sea? Why do people who lost their homes and their animals in the massive fire of August 2021 in the island of Evia, not yet compensated? Why did a series of wildfires in Greece, during the July heatwave in 2018, leave more than 80 people dead?  

Evia's forest is recovering from the disastrous wildfire in 2021 © Eftychia Konstantinidou

One can argue that Greek governments do successfully formulate the problem to be solved, but drop the ball on implementation, especially during critical battles. Dropping the ball of responsibility is a usual tactic and Greece’s true political will to find real solutions and address problems to their roots is for years intentionally delayed.

No real environmental agenda for the upcoming elections

On 25 June 2023, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, called for the snap vote after the first election process did not result in any party gaining a majority. Before every general election, as citizens with voting rights, we expect fine-grained information about all the parties’ positions on society, education, the economy, and the environment. What we usually get instead is a rather well-written manifesto full of glamorized words about future actions or past successful achievements; “We highlight the urgent obligation of the transition to a new energy model”, “within 6 years, 80% of electricity generation comes from renewable energy sources”, “20% of vehicles are zero or low emission by 2027”.

Environmental agenda in Greece is restricted to vaguely presented promises and the absence of a budgeted plan about how these policies will come into place, with most political manifestos explaining the “what” but not the “how”.  Mainstream media remains silent and most of the time indifferent, as their main concern is to secure a fixed amount of money by promoting positive environmental actions made by companies that do exactly the opposite.

How much does the environment cost to the Greek economy?

While political parties refuse to make concrete plans about tackling environmental issues, the latest 7th UNFCCC communication, provides some intriguing facts about the economic impact of climate change in Greece under three scenarios; the inaction scenario, the mitigation scenario, and the adaptation scenario. The worst-case scenario that assumes no action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (inaction scenario), estimated that Greek GDP would drop by an annual 2% by 2050 and 6% by 2100, and the total cumulative cost for the Greek economy till 2100 would amount to €701 billion.

The second scenario (mitigation scenario), assumed a constant and drastic reduction in Greece’s greenhouse gas emissions to keep the rise in average global temperature to no more than 2º C. This time the overall cost reduces to 40%, reaching €436 billion in losses. The last scenario considers the adaptation policies, as a relevant damage control measure (adaptation scenario).

Under this scenario, Greek GDP would drop by 2.3% and 3.7%, respectively, in 2050 and 2100, while the cost of adaptation policies would be €67 billion. However, the adaptation measures do not fully eliminate but merely contain the damage from climate change. Thus, the cumulative cost for the Greek economy of the damage from climate change was estimated at €510 billion.

“There is nothing more practical than a good theory”

The Austrian physicist and philosopher Ludwig Boltzmann once said, “There is nothing more practical than a good theory”. We endorse it by saying that a good theory needs enlightened people to implement it, otherwise, it remains a good theory on the shelf. Greece’s leaders still turn a blind eye, even though the economic impact of climate change costs billions of euros to the Greek economy.

The National adaptation strategy plan of 115 pages, is a good theoretical tool with practical references of “what should be done” and has the potential to properly address the environmental challenges Greece is currently facing. Envisioned political leaders, climate scientists and their research as well as young educated minds can and must be integrated into the decision-making process in order to achieve fast results. 

References

• Greece Climate Resilience Policy Indicator https://www.iea.org/articles/greece-climate-resilience-policy-indicator
• OECD iLibrary https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/c6cd76a1-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/c6cd76a1-en#:~:text=Greece's%20political%20commitments,and%20the%20EU%20Green%20Deal

 

Feature Image: 

The coastal area of Katerini in Northern Greece has been facing coastal erosion for over 30 years © Eftychia Konstantinidou