On the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June), Ioli Christopoulou presented the work of Green Tank in an interview with Athens Voice and journalist Lucas Velidakis.
At Green Tank, our main goal is to achieve the green transition in Greece in a fast, participatory and socially just way.
How will we achieve this? Our field of action is databases: by collecting and analyzing data, we formulate with informed policy proposals, aiming at realistic and implementable solutions.
Our work is dominated by the Greek power generation sector, which for many years relied on the ‘national fuel’, lignite, and had the largest share of carbon emissions.
Five years after the Green Tank was established, the picture has changed dramatically with over half of electricity generation now coming from renewable energy sources (RES). However, there are still obstacles, such as dependence on gas and a lack of energy storage infrastructure.
Another key focus of our work is the just transition of the lignite regions of Greece. We propose the development of new economic activities and the support of youth in these regions, while also claiming financial support from European and national resources.
Finally, one way of achieving the energy transition with social justice and citizen participation is through energy communities, which are growing in our country. However, the problem of grid saturation requires investment in infrastructure to create electric space.
The special issue of Athens Voice on the green economy and shipping in Greece was released on Thursday 6 June 2024. You can find the interview with Ioli Christopoulou in Greek here.
