Ioanna Theodosiou participated in the online event under the title “West Macedonia at the post-lignite era: Are there ways to ensure sustainable prosperity for everyone?” organized by the Greens, on Thursday, 11 March 2021.
The discussion revealed the challenges that the lignite regions have to face at the post-lignite era and tried to figure out ways to ensure a sustainable and just future for the Western Macedonia.
Ioanna Theodosiou talked about the need to face the climate crises and commented on the continuous drop of fossil fuels in Europe that has driven many EU countries to commit to phasing out coal, and she also showed the continuous collapse of lignite in Greece, even before the announcement of the phase-out. Commenting on the shortages of the Master Plan of the Just Transition, she noticed that there is also no public participation or consultation for the Territorial Just Transition Plans. The way that people living in the lignite regions in Greece receive the transition process was the subject of a public poll that was co-developed by The Green Tank, diANEOsis and MARC. The results of this poll showed that although people understand how beneficial the lignite phase-out is for the environment and the climate, they are pessimistic about their future. Finally, she proposed policy solutions to ensure the participation of the local communities and just transition, so no one would be left behind.
You can find the Press Release with the conclusions of the talk here (in Greek).
You can watch the entire event here (in Greek) as well as Ioanna’s Theodosiou speech:
