Haris Doukas, candidate for Mayor of Athens and professor of Environmental and Energy Policy at NTUA, participated as a speaker in the thematic debate organized in Zappeion on “Modern challenges: Climate change, natural disasters and sustainable development”, in the context of the celebrations for the completion of 49 years since the founding of PASOK.

Mr. Doukas referred to the visible effects of climate change and the need to adopt a new model of shielding cities against fires, pointing out: “The fire in Evros has been burning for more than 2 weeks. An ecological and environmental disaster is noted, the likes of which Europe has not experienced for many years. June and July were the warmest months since measurements were taken. In particular, the Mediterranean is at the heart of the climate crisis and we are all experiencing this. The problem of fires is also terrifying for the wider region of Attica, where from 2015 to today, 23% of the forest area has burned, as a result of which the air quality in the capital of Greece is particularly burdened.

The candidate for Mayor of Athens presented his plan for the transformation of Athens into an environmentally sustainable city, stressing: “The temperature will continue to rise at a much faster rate. Studies show that heat waves will triple in a decade from now and the Mediterranean will need new resilience plans to be sustainable. The “Green Deal” must be implemented in cities. The battle against climate change must be fought and won in cities. There must be a new, green, social contract in all municipalities, with Athens in the vanguard, to be able to change our production model, to be more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.”

Mr. Doukas highlighted the “15-minute” city model, which appeared during the pandemic and has since been implemented in Paris, Barcelona, ​​Rome and other cities. As Haris Doukas explained: “According to this model, citizens have access to all basic services (health, education, education, greenery, entertainment) within 15 minutes, using their feet or bicycle to have a quality life. »

At the same time, he referred to practices adopted today by many European cities to enhance greenery and shading, stressing: “There is a rule according to which when a resident opens his window he must see at least 3 trees, his area must have shading by trees by 30%, while there should be a park 300 meters from his house. These are not pilot proposals. This is how Milan, Paris and other big cities are being transformed today. On the contrary, in Greece there is no change of direction. We only see window projects, which do not improve the quality of life of the citizen.”

In this context, Mr. Doukas stated that its goal is to plant 25,000 trees over the next five years, for Athens to approach the European average of greenness in cities, which is 30% compared to the 11% currently observed in the capital, while he noted that his program includes reducing the temperature in the city center by up to 5 degrees Celsius by hot summer months.

“The cities that do amazing things are the cities that stop making excuses and move quickly, decisively, into actions of environmental and social innovation. We have the plan and the proposals to put it into practice in Athens now.” concluded the candidate for Mayor of Athens.