Environmental Policies
#35Key Findings
Lacking a strong focus on ecological matters, Greece scores relatively poorly (rank 35) with regard to its environmental policies. Its score on this measure has improved by 0.2 points as compared to 2014.
New laws have clarified environmental protection rules and changed land use regulations. More green investment is likely. The promotion of renewable energy has increased, with the country having significant solar, wind and tidal resources. The last coal plant is slated to close by 2025. Greenhouse gas emissions began declining after 2010 as a consequence of the economic crisis.
Nevertheless, the country is far behind in this area. Power stations and transport services pollute heavily, and tourist activities and construction degrade coastal zones. State structures do not control urban development, infrastructure projects or consumer behavior well. Unregulated agriculture, transport, tourism and fisheries are harming biodiversity.
Recycling has increased only modestly, and waste management is not systematically practiced. The country is already struggling to manage manifestations of climate change such as wildfires and heavy flooding.
New laws have clarified environmental protection rules and changed land use regulations. More green investment is likely. The promotion of renewable energy has increased, with the country having significant solar, wind and tidal resources. The last coal plant is slated to close by 2025. Greenhouse gas emissions began declining after 2010 as a consequence of the economic crisis.
Nevertheless, the country is far behind in this area. Power stations and transport services pollute heavily, and tourist activities and construction degrade coastal zones. State structures do not control urban development, infrastructure projects or consumer behavior well. Unregulated agriculture, transport, tourism and fisheries are harming biodiversity.
Recycling has increased only modestly, and waste management is not systematically practiced. The country is already struggling to manage manifestations of climate change such as wildfires and heavy flooding.
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How effectively does environmental policy in your country protect and preserve the sustainability of natural resources and environmental quality?
10
9
9
Environmental policy goals are ambitious and effectively implemented as well as monitored within and across most relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
8
7
6
7
6
Environmental policy goals are mainly ambitious and effectively implemented and are monitored within and across some of the relevant policy sectors that account for the largest share of resource use and emissions.
5
4
3
4
3
Environmental policy goals are neither particularly ambitious nor are they effectively implemented and coordinated across relevant policy sectors.
2
1
1
Environmental concerns have been largely abandoned.
In comparison to many other countries, Greece performs rather well on environmental policy. In the Yale University’s Environmental Policy Index 2020, Greece ranked 25th out of 180 countries (down from 22nd two years earlier) for overall environmental performance, with a score of 69.1. Greece is among the top world performers in terms of access to water and sanitation, but compared to residents of other developed countries, Greeks overuse water sources and create a lot of waste.
Industrial production and greenhouse-gas emissions in Greece declined after 2010, as a consequence of the economic crisis. Recycling has increased only modestly over the past 15 years and waste management is not systematically practiced.
Many observers as well as an OECD review in 2020 have underlined traditional problems with environmental protection. In Greece, transport and electricity power stations using lignite heavily pollute the air; tourist and construction businesses, as well as Greek and foreign tourists cause coastal zones to degrade; and unregulated activities related to agriculture, transport, tourism and fisheries create multiple risks for biodiversity.
Several causes lie at the root of Greece’s environmental challenges: a lack of state mechanisms capable of controlling sources of pollution, unchecked urban development, large infrastructure projects and negligent consumer behavior. Environmental and forest management is haphazard and subject to the vicissitudes of changing political leaderships and interests. This pattern is evident in the spread of the wildfires that threatened the northwestern suburbs of Athens in the summer of 2021.
Compared to the past, when environmental policymaking was rather fragmented across different ministries and state agencies, today policy formulation and implementation are better served by the Ministry of Environment and Energy. In 2021, the Greek government revamped its environmental legislation. The new regulations set clearer rules for environmental protection and are expected to facilitate environmental investments. More specifically, the new law changes regulations on land use, environmental licensing and the management of protected areas. However, the country is still not ready to address the challenges of climate change. Unprecedented wildfires in August 2021 and heavy flooding in October 2021 hit various areas.
Nevertheless, if there is one priority area in which tangible results have become increasingly obvious, it is the promotion of renewable energy. Here, the country has significant natural capital in the form of solar, wind and tidal resources.
In sum, as the latest EU Environmental Implementation Review notes, there has been some progress on waste-management issues, ecosystem protection and the implementation of the European Union’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. However, complex administrative structures and procedures continue to cause significant delays and bottlenecks. Paired with local political hurdles and “not in my backyard” movements, these are the main obstacles to the implementation of environmental legislation.
Nevertheless, central and local authorities, as well as state and private companies have become increasingly sensitive in implementing environmental legislation. While, owing to better crisis management, floods and wildfires in the period under review did not cause civilian deaths (as was the case prior to 2019), Greece has a very long way to go to successfully transition to a resource-efficient economy and preserve the country’s natural asset base.
Citations:
Data on Greece’s performance regarding renewable energy sources, water management and recycling is drawn from the SGI database available on this platform.
Data from the Environmental Performance Index for 2020 is available at https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2020/country/grc
European Commission, The Environmental Implementation Review 2019 (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/pdf/report_el_en.pdf)
OECD’s Environmental Performance Review for Greece, 2020, is available at https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/132fd602-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/132fd602-en
Industrial production and greenhouse-gas emissions in Greece declined after 2010, as a consequence of the economic crisis. Recycling has increased only modestly over the past 15 years and waste management is not systematically practiced.
Many observers as well as an OECD review in 2020 have underlined traditional problems with environmental protection. In Greece, transport and electricity power stations using lignite heavily pollute the air; tourist and construction businesses, as well as Greek and foreign tourists cause coastal zones to degrade; and unregulated activities related to agriculture, transport, tourism and fisheries create multiple risks for biodiversity.
Several causes lie at the root of Greece’s environmental challenges: a lack of state mechanisms capable of controlling sources of pollution, unchecked urban development, large infrastructure projects and negligent consumer behavior. Environmental and forest management is haphazard and subject to the vicissitudes of changing political leaderships and interests. This pattern is evident in the spread of the wildfires that threatened the northwestern suburbs of Athens in the summer of 2021.
Compared to the past, when environmental policymaking was rather fragmented across different ministries and state agencies, today policy formulation and implementation are better served by the Ministry of Environment and Energy. In 2021, the Greek government revamped its environmental legislation. The new regulations set clearer rules for environmental protection and are expected to facilitate environmental investments. More specifically, the new law changes regulations on land use, environmental licensing and the management of protected areas. However, the country is still not ready to address the challenges of climate change. Unprecedented wildfires in August 2021 and heavy flooding in October 2021 hit various areas.
Nevertheless, if there is one priority area in which tangible results have become increasingly obvious, it is the promotion of renewable energy. Here, the country has significant natural capital in the form of solar, wind and tidal resources.
In sum, as the latest EU Environmental Implementation Review notes, there has been some progress on waste-management issues, ecosystem protection and the implementation of the European Union’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. However, complex administrative structures and procedures continue to cause significant delays and bottlenecks. Paired with local political hurdles and “not in my backyard” movements, these are the main obstacles to the implementation of environmental legislation.
Nevertheless, central and local authorities, as well as state and private companies have become increasingly sensitive in implementing environmental legislation. While, owing to better crisis management, floods and wildfires in the period under review did not cause civilian deaths (as was the case prior to 2019), Greece has a very long way to go to successfully transition to a resource-efficient economy and preserve the country’s natural asset base.
Citations:
Data on Greece’s performance regarding renewable energy sources, water management and recycling is drawn from the SGI database available on this platform.
Data from the Environmental Performance Index for 2020 is available at https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2020/country/grc
European Commission, The Environmental Implementation Review 2019 (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/pdf/report_el_en.pdf)
OECD’s Environmental Performance Review for Greece, 2020, is available at https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/132fd602-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/132fd602-en
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To what extent does the government actively contribute to the design and advancement of global environmental protection regimes?
10
9
9
The government actively contributes to international efforts to design and advance global environmental protection regimes. In most cases, it demonstrates commitment to existing regimes, contributes to their being advanced and has introduced appropriate reforms.
8
7
6
7
6
The government contributes to international efforts to strengthen global environmental protection regimes. It demonstrates commitment to existing regimes and occasionally contributes to their being advanced and/or has introduced some appropriate reforms.
5
4
3
4
3
The government demonstrates commitment to existing regimes, but does not contribute to their being advanced and has not introduced appropriate reforms.
2
1
1
The government does not contribute to international efforts to strengthen global environmental protection regimes.
Greece participated in the negotiations and signed the Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015. Since November 2021, Greece has also followed the COP26 guidelines in preparing to shift to a sustainable environmental regime. Owing to its relatively recent economic problems, Greece could not accumulate adequate international clout to help shape the newly envisaged international environmental regime. Yet, the Greek government has committed to implementing that regime, which includes gradually shifting away from polluting operations. In April 2021, the Greek government announced that the last coal plant will close by 2025.
Citations:
Information on Greece’s efforts to “turn green” in accordance with COP26: https://www.economia.gr/en/cop26-greece-is-doing-its-part-and-turns-green/
Information on Greece’s plan of phasing-out lignite extraction and use: https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/greece-confirms-last-coal-plant-will-be-shut-in-2025/
Citations:
Information on Greece’s efforts to “turn green” in accordance with COP26: https://www.economia.gr/en/cop26-greece-is-doing-its-part-and-turns-green/
Information on Greece’s plan of phasing-out lignite extraction and use: https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/greece-confirms-last-coal-plant-will-be-shut-in-2025/