In Davos, where the heart of the World Economic Forum beats, Korina Georgiou was found
Response from Davos: Korina Georgiou
In Davos, where the heart of the World Economic Forum beats, only the natural environment sends a resounding message. The snow-covered mountain peaks do not remind much of the once white landscape and the voice of the planet calling for help is heard even louder this year.
According to research by the World Economic Forum, the environment and the climate crisis are the biggest threat of the next 10 years, something that experts have come to for the first time so en masse. It is typical that at least one third of the topics in Davos this year were related to the Environment and green development.
Antonio Guterres said it clearly, “for some countries the climate crisis will mean their death sentence”, stating that every week we see a weather horror story in some corner of the globe and calling on world leaders to act now to to save the planet: “The battle to keep the one-and-a-half degree limit alive will be won or lost this decade. My friends, right now the battle is being lost,” he said from the floor of the World Economic Forum.
At the same time, Greece is investing in green innovation, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressing in an interview with CNN journalist Farid Zakaria that “renewable energy sources are the cheapest, most environmentally friendly and geopolitically safe options”, saving the acceleration of the green transformation.
As the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments stated in the context of Greek House, Yannis Tsakiris in a forum on “supporting innovative entrepreneurship and the implementation of sustainable investments on a regional and global scale”, Greece has achieved the targets for the production of “green” energy much faster than it was committed to in the EU, while in 10 years will be above the European average in terms of investments in green growth.
The development bank, he said, is trying to have an innovative approach in attracting fund managers who want to invest in Greek start ups. As he said in the last 2 years, a record investment was recorded, while he emphasized that the Greek economy is very attractive for investments. “Greece has reached all the sustainability goals and based on this we are trying to structure our international contacts,” he said characteristically.
The President of the Hellenic Development Investment Bank also participated in the discussion Haris Lambropoulosthe Director, Head of International & European Affairs at Bpifrance Isabel Bebear and dr Maximilian Martinglobal head of philanthropy at Swiss banking group Bank Lombard Odier.
Mr. Haris Lambropoulos emphasized that sustainability is a key parameter for attracting investments, while the Greek side makes sure that these criteria are always respected in investments.
According to Maximilian Martin, a good cooperation between the public and private sectors is required, since sustainable investments cannot be implemented without private capital, but on the other hand the private sector needs the guidelines and regulatory intervention of the state. He referred to the changes that the generation of millennials brings to production and consumption, while he called for people to be given the opportunity to “make mistakes and experiment”.
“We are in a perfect storm. Climate change and the war changed everything,” said Mr. Black, CEO of PPC Renewables, adding in a discussion of Greek House that the company is leading in RES, while underlining that de-lignitization is progressing despite the difficulties. “Where the lignite mines used to be we are installing large solar panel units. The plan for the coming years is one of the biggest in the world. Five 5gw within the next 5 years, a total of 10gw at the end of the decade. According to the new energy plan, Greece increases electricity production, we are going for 30 gw. We have a very ambitious plan, we are very optimistic that it will be implemented.” Mr. Mavros made contacts with institutional investors, energy companies and participated in meetings of the World Economic Forum where the energy transformation at the global level was discussed.
Tourism is on the same wavelength, with Greece aiming to evolve into a sustainable destination by 2030. As characteristically emphasized by Dimitris Fragakis, G.G. of the EOT from the stage of the Greek pavilion in Davos, “the transition to sustainability, the emphasis on the digitization of services, the investment in the authenticity of the tourist experience but also the emphasis on the knowledge and skills of the people working in the sector are big bets for our very near future. In particular, sustainability concerns both the protection of the environment and the strengthening of social cohesion through tourism. A difficult but completely achievable goal.”
According to Mr. Fragakis, the number of Swiss tourists will increase by 20% in 2022. It is no coincidence that the Swiss are excited and the spark in their eyes when they hear that you are Greek. Most looked back to the summers of their carefree youth, with many remembering some everyday expressions they proudly uttered in broken Greek and of course the word “Santorini”. Therefore, the objective of the EOT is not only to extend the tourist season spatially and temporally by strengthening winter tourism, but also to highlight areas that could become new poles of attraction and increase tourist income in less “recognizable” tourist areas as well , such as the Peloponnese, Epirus, Thessaly and Macedonia.
Leaving Davos one could not help but remember for a long time both the traditional Swiss taverns – at the next table you can meet John Kerry or Keir Starmer eating Swiss fillet, as well as the polar temperatures that can year after year and due to of global warming become more tolerable, yet make a long walk on the Promenade almost impossible. What is certain is that when leaving Davos one has inflated one’s lungs with pure oxygen and images that will fuel the thoughts and discussions of tomorrow.
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