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The upward trend in power sector emissions continued in August, reaching 1.38 million tonnes (+7.8% compared with July), driven by increased use of lignite and fossil gas, despite the record level of renewable energy generation recorded in the same month. With the addition of August’s emissions, cumulative sector emissions since the beginning of 2026 reached 9.6 million tonnes, exceeding the carbon budget set under the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the whole of 2026.

Renewables reached a new all-time monthly high in August, at 3,312 GWh. However, wholesale market prices hit a yearly high of €133.4/MWh, driven by increased gas usage, and higher gas prices rose in August due to the escalating crisis. Batteries prevented 15.4% of August’s RES curtailments, which were limited to 158.6 GWh for the month, but nevertheless approached 2 TWh (1,905 GWh) since the beginning of the year.

Nikos Mantzaris, Lead Policy Analyst and co-founder of The Green Tank, spoke to Alexandros Klossas on the “Proto Proino” morning show on Parapolitika FM 90.1 about the impact of geopolitical instability on energy markets, high electricity prices, and solutions that can help reduce costs for households and businesses.

Ship strikes are the leading human-induced threat to endangered sperm and fin whales in the Mediterranean. A special feature by Mongabay examines the scale of the threat, as well as the solutions being explored to address it. The feature highlights SAvE Whales, a project aimed at developing an innovative acoustic early-warning system for ships in the Strait of Kythira.

A new analysis by The Green Tank, titled “Vertical Corridor: Gas Demand and Economic Viability,” examines whether existing and planned LNG infrastructure in Greece is needed to meet future fossil gas demand in the region through 2040. It also assesses the economic competitiveness of gas transit via the Vertical Corridor compared with routes from other entry points to Ukraine and Hungary.

An AMNA (Athens-Macedonian News Agency) article examines Greece’s new Ministerial Decision simplifying and accelerating procedures for small self-consumption energy systems, with or without battery storage. The article features comments by Nikos Mantzaris, Lead Policy Analyst and co-founder of The Green Tank,.

The Green Tank submitted comments to the Special Managing Authority for the Just Development Transition on two implementation documents included in the 11th written procedure of the Just Development Transition Programme (JTP) 2021–2027.

Batteries are already helping to reduce the amount of renewable energy being lost in Greece, while also reducing the need for electricity generation from costly fossil gas. However, the country is still far from the desired level of battery deployment. This is highlighted by data from IPTO’s day-ahead scheduling analysed by The Green Tank and featured in an article by Mahi Tratsa in To Vima tis Kyriakis and ot.gr.

In an interview with ESG+ Stories, Ioli Christopoulou, Policy Director and co-founder of The Green Tank, discusses the need to rethink how we measure wealth and well-being. She explains why GDP alone is no longer enough to capture a country’s true prosperity, and why nature should be recognised as a form of capital and an asset that underpins our economy and society.

The Green Tank’s new analysis , titled “Electricity exports from fossil gas: the cost to the Greek market and the climate”, quantitatively examines the impact of this additional use of fossil gas for electricity exports on Greece’s wholesale electricity market and on emissions from the power sector.

Nikos Mantzaris, co-founder and energy policy analyst at The Green Tank, spoke to journalist Giorgos Psaltis on SKAI Radio about electricity prices, following the Prime Minister’s commitment, announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), to reduce electricity bills by 30% over the next three years.

Nature Credits and new approaches to financing nature protection and restoration were the focus of an article published in To Vima tis Kyriakis on 23 August 2026.

In August, the highest Russian gas imports of 2026 via Sidirokastro (2.62 TWh) were recorded, while LNG imports via Amfitriti doubled (1.13 TWh). Domestic consumption remained flat at July’s levels (5.6 TWh). In the first 8 months, gas consumption by the grids sector reached a record high (9.3 TWh), gas use in electricity was the 2nd highest on record (31.6 TWh), while industry was limited to 4.7 TWh (-3.4% compared to 2025). LNG ranked 1st in imports for the first 8 months (27.9 TWh), reaching a historic high for this period of the year. Exports for the first 8 months

Emissions from electricity generation rose in July to 1.28 million tons (+25.6% compared to June), mainly due to increased gas use, which also pushed the carbon intensity above 200 g CO2/kWh (204 g CO2/kWh, +12.5%). However, for the first 7 months of 2026, emissions from the sector reached a historic low (8.23 million tons), mainly due to reduced use of lignite and oil in non-interconnected islands. Despite this historic low, the country has already emitted more than 90% of its annual carbon budget and is off track to meet the NECP the electricity production sector.