Nikos Mantzaris gave a lecture to the students of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens on December 16, 2021.
The lecture, titled “Greece on the road to climate neutrality”, was made upon an invitation of the Professor of the Department and UNESCO Chairholder on Climate Diplomacy Emmanuella Doussis in the course “Climate Diplomacy”.
Nikos Mantzaris initially focused on the evolution of the country’s climate performance over time and the strong positive effect that the reduction of lignite production had on them, especially in recent years. He then presented the main points of the Greek national draft climate law that was submitted for consultation, highlighting both the provisions that will contribute to the country’s climate progress and those that can be improved. Finally, he presented his thoughts and concerns on 3 important challenges related to achieving the goals of climate law and especially that of climate neutrality: a) the need to involve all sectors of the economy in climate action, b) the risk of “locking” the country’s energy model in fossil gas infrastructure and c) the Just Transition of the lignite regions of the country which for decades sacrificed themselves on the altar of economic growth and are now faced with a fundamental change in their production model.
The lecture was followed by a lively discussion with the students on a variety of issues related to both national and European climate and energy policies.
