The “luxury” of inactivity does not exist. Everywhere we have strict goals, milestones and timetables, both in terms of the country’s European obligations and the utilization of the resources of the Recovery Fund and the National Emergency Response Fund”, emphasized the Minister of the Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, during the debate in the Parliament, of the Program Statements of the Government.

“The country is facing in the fields of environment and energy the climate crisis which is in its first phase and during the next decades, it will unfortunately worsen and requires extremely ambitious and effective adaptation policies, both in terms of natural and man-made environment and the transition to the green economy which has multiple challenges, as it will take place in an unstable and changing energy environment”, underlined Mr. Skylakakis.

At the same time, he identified “the five principles that are an absolute priority in the program of the New Democracy”, “which are a guide for the ministry’s work in the coming years, saying characteristically:

1. Careful measurement, maximum transparency and efficient functioning of the institutions regarding the prices of energy services as the complexity of the modern energy market and the unstable environment, hides risks with potentially huge costs, which ultimately work at the expense of the final consumer.

2. Effective use of the very important resources available to the country today. They will be absorbed to the core and will take place at all levels, environmental, energy, development.

3. Speed. Speed. Speed. The green transition, the adaptation to the climate crisis, the protection of our ecosystems and the residential environment do not leave us the luxury of time. Not a single day should go to waste, a sacrifice to bureaucratic structures, staff shortages, proprietary attitudes and lazy habits. Contests must end. Consultations should be done effectively and quickly, environmental studies should be carried out, permits should be issued. Presidential Decrees to be institutionalized. Objections to be judged.

4. Use of modern technology and new tools. An example is the control of new arbitrary construction with modern means and with parallel central and local monitoring. So that arbitrariness stops at its origin.

5.Priority to the socially vulnerable and the consistent.

“Building on the Action Plan we already prepared in the previous term to support energy-vulnerable households, we will provide additional incentives for energy-vulnerable energy saving actions, we will optimize the Social Household Tariff and we will proceed with the production of green energy by OTAs to support the consumption of their vulnerable citizens through Energy Communities. Also, a special electricity tariff for large families is to be established, based on the relevant decision of the Council of State. At the same time, the resources from more effectively dealing with those who adopt inconsistency in relation to the law or payments as an enrichment strategy, we will make sure that they finally reach the consistent citizens and consumers, compensating them somewhat for their chronic mistreatment”, Mr. Skylakakis pointed out.

“Based on these principles, we will promote projects and reforms everywhere,” added the Minister of Environment and Energy, decoding the 12 main axes on which he will move and which are:

1. Further acceleration of the introduction of Renewable Energy Sources in our energy mix,

2. Iconic interconnections in the Electricity System. Important international connections to the north and to the south are progressing or being launched, in order to ensure the country not only its energy security, but also its transformation into an exporter of green energy in the wider region.

3. The new major green energy transition projects through the new REPower EU resources of the Recovery and Resilience Fund. These are projects and programs worth 795 million euros concerning energy storage, the installation of photovoltaics on roofs, energy saving in businesses, the creation of pilot projects for hydrogen and biomethane as well as the capture and storage of carbon.

4. The acceleration of the transition to the digital energy era for networks and infrastructures.

5. The promotion and completion of the projects and programs of the Recovery Fund for saving energy in households, with priority to vulnerable households and in the public sector and the production, saving and storage of energy in businesses with priority to small and medium enterprises and farmers.

6. The green and Smart Islands. With secured funding from the NSRF and the Island Decarbonization Fund with resources exceeding 1.5 billion euros, very large projects for the energy transition, sustainable resource management, environmental protection and digital transformation are being launched on the Greek islands their.

7. The major projects to protect our forests from the threats of the climate crisis. In this context, the program of reforestation and prevention projects is underway with plantings on 165,000 hectares by 2025, with an emphasis on species resistant to the new conditions. In the same context, it is foreseen for forest protection, the opening of forest roads 40,000 km long, the opening and maintenance of fire protection zones with a total length of 10,000 km, with an emphasis on fire protection lines of a “strategic” nature

8. Completion of the basic spatial and urban planning of the country, which is an unfulfilled demand throughout the modern history of the new Greek state.

9. Adaptation of spatial planning and urban planning rules to the challenges of climate change and new technologies, with an emphasis on increasing common spaces and greenery in densely populated areas.

10. Reform for the rational management of water as a public good, which includes the reform concerning DEYA and TOEB/GOEB, the return of EYDAP and EYATH to the public, but also a number of small, medium and large water supply, irrigation and flood control projects protection that have already secured funding.

11. In the area of ​​waste, it is sought to gain lost ground and bring the country closer to its recycling targets and commitments to waste management. Emphasis is placed on recycling and incentives and training of households and businesses to increase recycling at the source and add new streams – such as the brown bin – in a simple and functional way for the citizen. Illegal landfills are coming to an end, “pay as you fly” is being implemented massively, to reduce municipal fees and make the country cleaner cities

12. The important work to protect the most sensitive ecosystems, which began in the first four years with initiatives such as the “deceited mountains”, continues.

“These are ambitious goals that require a lot of work. We should always look to the future. In the country’s adaptation to the climate crisis and in our preparation for the great and accelerating technological changes of the coming decades, which will affect every aspect of modern life. Work, commuting, the need for more public space. These challenges are not far from us. They are already happening and there is not a single day available,” concluded Mr. Skyllakakis.