The course of Green Transition in Greece and Europe

Ioli Christopoulou, policy director at The Green Tank, delivered a lecture on “The course of Green Transition in Greece and in Europe” as part of a series of seminars organized by the Institute of Social Research, EKKE on research findings and methods (2nd part / November 2021-June 2022).

The lecture focused on the three crucial pillars of the EU Green Deal, the EU’s development strategy guiding the transition, namely nature protection, climate neutrality and a just transition.

On nature protection, she spoke about the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, announced in May 2020, its two pillars, namely the protection and restoration of nature, and the challenges that Greece faces in this field.

The discussion was then turned to the European Climate Law and the fit for 55 legislative aimed at bringing the European legislation in line with the new legally binding climate targets, and more specifically a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 compared to 1990. At this point, the focus was on the climate performance of Greece and the EU, the downward course of lignite and the commitment to lignite phase out. Regarding the Greek case, Ioli Christopoulou referred to the Greek National Climate draft law which – in its current form and yet not submitted to Parliament – sets ambitious climate neutrality targets by 2050 as well as interim climate targets, and contains a detailed description for the development of sectoral carbon budgets. The issue of energy transition as a key element in achieving climate neutrality was also examined in the light of the war in Ukraine, where both the short and long term benefits of renewable energy sources were highlighted.

Finally, she referred to the challenges of a just transition, namely the support of those communities that are most vulnerable in this transition period, such as lignite-reliant regions.

The lecture was followed by a discussion with the active participation of IKE-EKKE researchers.

The event was held on May 3, 2022.