Hatzidakis: We are continuing the green transition with a social sign

The geopolitical crisis may have forced Greece – like all EU countries – to re-evaluate some aspects of the green transition in the short term. But in no way has it overturned the broader planning, which is reflected in the rapid penetration of RES – from an energy point of view – and in the initiatives that the country is “running” for the transition of the lignite areas (which also have a strong social sign) but also for the development of the “green” skills required for the new era.

This was the main message sent by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis during his speech at the 1st European Social Foruman event he organized the European Commission in Brussels (November 16-17). In his intervention, Mr. Hatzidakis noted that the urgent need to secure energy supply – given the crisis created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – led all countries to redraw the road map towards the achievement of the Fit for 55 goals and the European Green Deal. At the same time, however, he highlighted the agenda in question with even greater intensity, because, as he said, “its aim is now twofold: Not only the protection of the environment, but also the weaning of Russia from fossil fuels”.

Mr. Hatzidakis recalled that even before the outbreak of the war, Greece had set ambitious goals for the green transition: “As a result, our country climbed to 7th place internationally in 2021 in terms of the penetration of RES in our energy mix. Not long ago, for the first time in history clean energy from RES covered the entire electricity demand for 5 hours, sending a strong signal about where we want to go. We are determined to continue in the same direction, which is why we are revising the target for RES penetration in electricity generation to 80% by the end of the decade (from 65% previously). He emphasized that the goal of completely eliminating lignite from the energy mix for not only environmental, but also economic reasons remains, recalling the main axes of the Just Development Transition Plan that will mobilize funds of over 5 billion. euros for changing the economic development model in the lignite regions of Western Macedonia and Megalopolis in the coming years. He also placed special emphasis on the special programs designed by DYPA to support employment in these areas.

“At the same time, we need to prepare our workforce for the green transition by developing the necessary skills. Greece has been experiencing a deficit in digital and green skills for years. That is why we promoted a bill in the spring for the reform of the vocational training system, with the aim – among other things – to deal with this problem”. Mr. Hatzidakis referred to the massive training program implemented by DYPA with funding from the NSRF and the Recovery Fund for the training and retraining of 700,000 unemployed and workers in the coming years, while he underlined that green skills are also at the heart of the active employment programs of the Public Employment Service.

“The green transition is not a one-dimensional process. Beyond protecting the environment, we must ensure that it is fair for all involved and leaves no one behind. And I believe that the initiatives of the Greek government – inspired by the best European practices – underline its commitment”, concluded the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

Mr. Hatzidakis participated in the thematic panel “For a green and fair future” together with the former Employment Commissioner Mrs. Anna Diamantopoulouand the CEO of the French Solvay group, Ilham Kadri, the president of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Mr. Dragos Pislarou, and the professor of the University of Lund, Mrs. Silvia Serger.

Finally, it should be noted that the European Social Forum is the largest event in the EU for employment issues. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the start of the work and was attended by, among others, Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmidt, Equality Commissioner Elena Daly, former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, representatives of the academic community and high-ranking European business executives.

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