Developments in Ukraine at the heart of the 7th Delphi Economic Forum – Today’s agenda

By Stelios Kandias

In the shadow of the war in Ukraine yesterday was fatally the first day of the 7thDelphi Economic Forumas political economy and justice have a direct correlation with the Ukrainian.

Many present expressed it their concern about developments, but also conflicting views. But there were also optimistic reports for the next day, while an alarm bell rang for the climate crisis.

Climate: Time is running out for the planet

During the discussion, moderated by Nik Gowing, founder of Thinking the Unthinkable, COP26 Regional Ambassador to Europe, Central Asia, Turkey and Iran, David Moran, stressed that there is very little time left for ambitious action on climate. “The window of opportunity is closing,” he said, urging all countries to align with the Paris targets and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The cost of environmental destruction for Greece is estimated at 700 billion by the end of the century if we do not act immediately,” said Christos Zerefos, Secretary General of the Academy of Athens and Greece’s representative for Climate Change. He called for the Glasgow agreement to be implemented immediately, not for 2030, and stressed the importance of education so that people could understand the critical turning point on the planet.

For his part, Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, estimated that we can avoid a rise in temperature by 3 degrees, but we need an immediate transition to other forms of energy. It also highlighted the huge impact that deforestation has on the climate.

The assessment that the war in Ukraine will accelerate the transition to green energy was expressed by Costas Synolakis, Chairman of the Special Scientific Committee on Climate Change for Greece.

Internet speech is being regulated by the Council of Europe

The strengthening of institutions and the need to regulate inequalities in modern societies were at the heart of the conversation between George Papandreou, President of the Socialist International, and Kevin Featherstone, Professor at the LSE.

Against the backdrop of the anarchic internet landscape, George Papandreou stated that a relevant regulation in relation to speech on the internet is imminent by the Council of Europe, which will not act as a deterrent to pluralism, but in an effort to find out where the any hate speech.

At the beginning of the discussion, Kevin Featherstone referred to the many different crises that are currently affecting democracy in Europe, referring specifically to a “mix of crises, some of which are short-term, some long-term and some with deeper consequences”.

According to the former Greek Prime Minister, Democracy is indeed in crisis and the Council of Europe is constantly reinforcing new ideas in order to promote those that will prevent the erosion of institutions.

All this, according to Mr. Papandreou, is likely to affect democratic institutions, citing the recent attack in Ukraine as an example.

Education

In his discussion with the Minister of Education Niki Kerameos, the director of the Center for Sustainable Development of Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs pointed out that Greece can become an educational center of international scope. Athens, he pointed out, can become a center of values ​​education again. He also said he was impressed by the speed with which online education was adopted in the pandemic.

The professor presented a completely different future, as, as he said, “in 20-30 years the jobs will be very different, so we have to go much faster than the machines so that they are our friends and do not replace us” .

Finally, the professor pointed out that we need to train in values ​​and virtues, as Aristotle said, and that this is why there is Mission 4.7, while he stressed that the Greek Minister of Education, Mrs. Kerameos, is a pioneer in this.

China

Today, the focus will be on China, as Sino-US relations and China’s relationship with the rest of the world will be discussed. Speakers will include, among others, the Chinese and US ambassadors to Athens, Xiao Jucheng and Jeffrey Payat, and US General David Petraeus. For the challenges in the wider area, the Minister of Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos will be placed.

Former Minister of Civil Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis will comment on the war in Ukraine.

Speakers

In addition to geopolitical issues, the Delphi Economic Forum will also include Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, who will refer to EU fiscal rules, Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos, who will speak on the modernization of the Greek police, and Health Minister Thanos Plevris, the Deputy Minister of Health Mina Gaga who will speak about the challenges of the health system, the Deputy Minister of Labor Domna Michailidou for the next day in Greece and the mayor of Athens Costas Bakogiannis who will be placed for the cities of the future.

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