The road to climate neutrality and just transition in Southern Europe: the case of Greece

Although Southern Europe countries have contributed very little to the climate change crisis, they are highly vulnerable to its impacts. Extreme weather events, wildfires and floods, as well as slower environmental degradation, including sea level rise, droughts and loss of biodiversity, continued to spread and intensify across the region. Stronger commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and effective national adaptation policies are needed to build more resilient societies. The EU has committed to this direction and decided to further limit its emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030 and channel at least 30% of the global total expenditure by the MFF and the NGEU into climate action. The European Green Deal is the new road map for sustainability in Europe, with the goal of making the continent climate neutral by 2050. This goal will be achieved by modernizing the economy through green technology, sustainable industry and transport while making the transition just and inclusive for all. A new climate law will translate the 2030 target into a legal obligation while other policies will be updated to integrate the goal of carbon neutrality. Furthermore, an updated EU adaptation strategy to make Europe more climate resilient is expected in spring 2021. In line with those imperatives, Greece has taken further action to implement the lignite phase-out process announced at the 2019 UN Climate Summit. A Master Plan for a Just Development Transition providing for a set of emblematic investments for the post-lignite era has been announced, while specific territorial plans for the regions involved are expected to be drafted. However, further action needs to be taken to achieve the goal of climate neutrality and adapt to climate change impacts. Moreover, these initiatives need to gain public support, especially in the regions involved. This paper aims to present the state-of-the art concerning the Greek climate policy as well the challenges ahead to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and address climate change impacts. It argues that 2021 opens a window of opportunity to deal with the climate crisis better and make progress towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. Hope lies in a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and in making climate action part of Covid-19 relief plans. The challenge is not simply to reset the economy, but to shape it in a sustainable way. At the same time, relevant stakeholders need to be effectively engaged to this process not simply through formal consultation but through open and constructive social dialogue that will enable to co-design sustainable solutions. Climate change should not be seen as a lower priority issue than the pandemic, but as the other side of the same coin.