The Mayor of Astypalea, Nikos Komineas, participated in the UN World Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, where he presented the vision of the municipality for the green and sustainable development of the island of Astypalea, as well as the way in which the ambitious project “Astypalea: Smart & Sustainable Island”, implemented in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group and the Greek government, will contribute significantly to its realisation.
According to an announcement, the mayor, accompanied by Costas Komninos, general manager of the Network of Sustainable Islands (DAFNI), participated as a guest speaker in two events organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), the Scottish Enterprise (OECD) and Nordregio, in the context of the publication of the “Rural Agenda for Climate Action” report of the OECD Rural Policy Working Group.
In the first event, Komineas presented a vision for the balanced development of island areas, such as Astypalea, effectively connecting tourism with the local agricultural economy. In this direction, he highlighted the planning of the municipality for the implementation of modernisation projects in energy infrastructure, waste, water and transport, based on the principles of sustainability and the circular economy.
In the second event, Astypalea was presented as a “good example” in a thematic unit promoting the benefits to the local community and economy from the implementation of RES energy projects. Komineas focused on the strategy of the municipality for the implementation of an RES hybrid station project, as promoted within the project “Astypalea: Smart & Sustainable Island”, in order to meet local energy needs in contrast to other proposed large-scale RES projects. In addition, he presented the innovative proposal of the municipality for the establishment of an energy community as a management body for both the RES project and other infrastructure of the island. Finally, the mayor highlighted the challenges the Greek islands face in terms of infrastructure management, but also opportunities for the development of innovation projects, which can be reproduced both in the countryside and in urban areas.
Greece up 10 places in Germanwatch Climate Change Index 2022
Greece has jumped 10 places to rank 24th among 60 countries in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index 2022 issued by Germanwatch, CAN International and the NewClimate Institute. The index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 60 countries and the European Union.
The EU Has slipped six places in the rankings since the previous year.
The factors that contributed to Greece rising from 34th to 24th in the list included a programme to phase out lignite coal, the new climate law announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his speech at the COP26 in Glasgow, Greece’s revised National Plan for Energy and Climate designed to adapt to the more ambitious EU emissions targets for 2030, a programme subsidising the purchase of electric vehicles and legislation on forests.
The Climate Change Performance Index compares 60 countries and the EU in the areas of greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy sources, energy use and climate policy, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the current efforts and progress of the countries analysed. Besides, it measures how well countries are on track to meet the global goals of the Paris Agreement by evaluating the current status and future targets of each category with reference to a well-below 2 ° C pathway.
According to the authors of the report, no country achieved a satisfactory performance in all these areas and, for this reason, they left the first three places in the ranking empty. So highest-placed Denmark ranks fourth, followed by Sweden and Norway, while the oil-producing countries Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan rank last.
“No country performs well enough in all CCPI index categories to achieve an overall very high rating. The first three positions in the overall ranking therefore remain empty. This says a great deal. Even if all countries were as committed as the current frontrunners, it would still not be enough to prevent dangerous climate change,” the authors noted, adding that the countries with high rankings have no reason “to sit back and relax” as even greater efforts are needed to stay on track and keep global warming under 2C.