The new Climate Plan of Greece sets higher renewable energy targets

A revised energy and climate policy presented on Friday sets more ambitious goals for the expansion of solar and wind power in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Athens will target an 82% share for renewables in the electricity generation in 2030, compared to a 66% goal in its previous plan for 2019. The plan is to be submitted for approval to the European Commission.

The national energy and climate plans of EU member states detail their contribution towards the EU's target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% or more by 2030. They also provide a roadmap for energy industry investments.

The Mediterranean country, with its abundant sunshine, has doubled its renewable power output since 2014. It has added new wind and solar power plants and shut down most of its coal-fired units.

At a press conference to announce the plan, Greek Energy and Environmental Minister Theodore Skylakakis stated that the country had already exceeded its goals for penetration of renewables.

Skylakakis, however, said that the revised plans did not address the issue of climate change already occurring.

He said: "The general opinion is that the climate crises can be prevented before they happen... But the climate crisis has already occurred, and it has huge economic implications."

We are in October, and this weekend will be 34 degrees Celsius in Greece (93 degrees Farenheit), which means we've already entered the climate crises.

Scientists attribute the devastating wildfires and floods in Greece to the high summer temperatures. Greece is still recovering from financial turmoil, having almost left the eurozone in 2015.

The country is struggling to pay for repairs and to improve its infrastructure to withstand extreme heat.

According to the new plan, Athens estimates that it will require additional investments worth 95 billion euro ($103.97billion) by 2030. This includes policies for making thousands of buildings more energy-efficient, installing more solar and wind energy, and building energy storage.

By 2050, the total estimated spending will be around 330 billion Euros.

These actions will allow the country to reduce greenhouse emissions by 58.6% in 2030, on its way to climate neutrality in 2050. This is higher than the 43% reduction envisaged by the 2019 plan. Reporting by KarolinaTagaris and Angeliki Koutantou. Jane Merriman edited the article.

(source: Reuters)