At the public discussion “Talking with the World (Kosmos),” organized by the political party Kosmos on January 22, 2026, to address energy poverty, Ioanna Souka, Energy Policy Analyst at The Green Tank, stressed that energy poverty in Greece is a particularly serious social problem. According to Eurostat and the EU Energy Poverty Advisory Hub, Greece records the highest values across four key energy poverty indicators reflecting socioeconomic impacts and living conditions.
Ioanna Souka highlighted the upcoming implementation of the new Emissions Trading System for buildings and transport (ETS2), which is expected to place additional financial pressure on households that rely on fossil fuels, particularly the most vulnerable ones. She noted that while Greece is set to receive €4.78 billion through the Social Climate Fund, a joint study by The Green Tank and FACETS shows that three times as much funding (€11.9–15.5 billion) is required to substantially reduce energy and transport vulnerability.
She further emphasized the need for long-term structural policies that go beyond temporary relief measures, and subsidy-based approaches. While the updated national Action Plan to Combat Energy Poverty includes some long-term interventions, it suffers from significant gaps. Ioanna Souka underlined the importance of policy coherence, including linking energy poverty policies with housing policy.
Finally, responding to a question on high electricity prices, she explained that they are largely driven by Greece’s heavy dependence on fossil gas. A cleaner electricity mix would therefore lead to lower wholesale electricity prices. However, she stressed that the rapid deployment of renewable energy must be accompanied by information, dialogue, and participatory planning with local communities, with energy communities serving as a key vehicle for active citizen participation. As she concluded, “The energy transition cannot be sustainable if it is not socially just.”
