Greece ought to act holistically against climate challenges, or face failures

Climate targets require integrated action across sectors of energy, agriculture and water. But current policies in Greece remain fragmented.

Facing a growing array of climate-linked challenges that threaten its core economic systems, Greece’s ambitious 2050 climate neutrality goals, primarily pursued through its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), risk being undermined by a lack of coordination across key sectors such as energy, agriculture and water. 

A preliminary analysis by UN SDSN highlights that these fragmented policy efforts could lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities, emphasizing the urgent need for a more integrated and systemic approach to ensure a sustainable future for the nation.

Growing climate threats and economic vulnerabilities

Greece is facing a wide range of challenges — from extreme weather events occurring more frequently, and with greater intensity, to economic crises and rising demand for resources and energy. Many of these challenges are being amplified and made more complex by climate change. 

The rapidly changing energy needs, both in magnitude and spatial and temporal distribution, reveal a complex and often unpredictable web of risks.

Interconnected systems at stake

These risks directly impact the interconnected systems of energy, water and food, which are three foundational pillars of the Greek economy. 

These systems are in constant interaction, not only with each other but also with the climate conditions and the availability of natural, economic and human resources. 

The central aim, then, is to ensure these systems function in a way that is sustainable, environmentally sound, economically efficient and resilient to climate change.

Decarbonisation efforts and potential for fragmentation

Over the past few decades, global policy efforts have increasingly focused on combating climate change, promoting sustainability, and adopting integrated, interdisciplinary approaches. One of the key components of these efforts, particularly in Europe and increasingly in Greece, is decarbonisation. 

In Greece, this goal is mainly pursued through the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The NECP outlines a transition toward cleaner fuels such as renewables, alongside more efficient energy use, with the long-term goal of achieving decarbonisation by 2050, a challenging task due to the complex interactions between sectors, policy and science. 

For instance, some sectors such as water and energy are competing for resources, even as there is incomplete scientific information about potentially optimal resources allocation at the local level. Also, often the recommendations of the respective policy frameworks are not followed –or implemented — in reality. 

Greece has set ambitious goals with NECP; however, to our knowledge, there is no study assessing the progress, which is often debated. For this reason, it is necessary for policymakers to emphasise the key drivers accelerating the energy transition and influencing the energy and carbon intensity. 

Policy fragmentation

For the first time, the UN SDSN Global Climate Hub team has used mathematical modelling to simulate Greece’s energy system as a whole. 

The research uses detailed models that link energy, water, agriculture, and climate to analyse ​​the energy-water-food-land use system as a whole, at the national scale. 

The models are tested under various scenarios representing future challenges and/or real policies, helping us see how the system might respond to crises and real policy scenarios, including the NECP. 

The analysis of different policies and planning strategies aimed at achieving climate neutrality reveals that despite efforts to cut emissions and boost sustainability, interventions are often fragmented across sectors such as agriculture, energy, and water. 

In agriculture, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) focuses on improving competitiveness and efficiency. However, it does not outline a clear path for full decarbonisation of the sector. It also overlooks interactions with other areas such as how increased agricultural land and production could raise demands for water and energy. 

Similarly, energy and climate policies under the NECP provide a detailed roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. But it misses key variables such as land needed for new solar panels or wind farms, the country’s capacity to produce biofuels, and the potential increase in water consumption. 

The policy roadmap also looks at the maritime sector, given its strategic importance to the Greek economy. Despite new EU regulations that came into force in 2024, Greece still lacks a dedicated national plan for achieving climate neutrality in shipping. Reaching this goal will be particularly difficult, requiring a series of timely, well-coordinated and robust measures. 

As for water management, both supply-side infrastructure and demand-side efficiency measures are needed, along with better protection against climate extremes such as droughts and floods. However, planning documents such as the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and the Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) have seen delays in their development and revision. Even when these plans do exist, implementation is often minimal.

Systemic and coordinated approach

The researchers’ experience indicates that policies designed by different ministries, each working with its own planning timeline and priorities, can unintentionally create problems in other sectors. 

This insight is echoed by recent comments from the European Commission, which has called for better coordination among Greek ministries. 

Climate adaptation cannot be tackled in a piecemeal way. A more aligned and holistic approach is needed to avoid conflicting policies and ensure a smoother path toward sustainability. 

It requires a systemic perspective and coordinated, cross-sectoral action. Scientific understanding of the interconnections between climate, energy, water, food and extreme events must be reflected in policymaking.

Dr Phoebe Koundouri is a Professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business and the Technical University of Denmark. She is the President of the World Council of Environmental and Natural Resource Economists Associations, Chair of the SDSN Global Climate Hub, Director of AE4RIA, and Director of the Sustainable Development Unit at ATHENA Research Center.

Dr Angelos Alamanos is an independent researcher based in Berlin, Germany.

Dr Ioannis Arampatzidis is a post-doctoral researcher at the AE4RIA network. He holds a PhD in energy economics from the Ruhr Graduate School in Economics and the University of Duisburg-Essen, a MSc in Economics and a BSc in Economics from the Department of Economics, University of Macedonia.

Mr Stathis Devves is a PhD Researcher at the Athens University of Economics and Business, with a basic degree from the Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics Department, Patras University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Energy Economics, Policy and Regulations from Piraeus University.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.