In terms of climate change mitigation, in Greece, in 2016 (most recent data), the decrease of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) continued both due to the gradual transition of the energy system to a lower-emission system and due to the reduced activity because of the economic crisis. In particular, total GHG were reduced by 3,703 kt CO2 compared to 2015 (the 4th largest decrease in the EU after the UK, Spain and Italy, based on EEA data). For the post-2020 period, an immediate and ambitious targeting by the state will help to achieve more pronounced reductions through appropriate investments to transform the energy system. To this end, the national plan for energy and cli-mate is currently under development for 2030 and beyond, until 2050. The target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for 2030 are expected to be combined with targets for energy saving and renewable development sources of energy, within the framework of the European institutional and legal framework. It is noted that with the completion of some forthcoming projects such as the interconnection of the islands to the electrical grid of the mainland that will result in the decommissioning of the oil stations in the non-connected islands, in combination with the decrease of the lignite power plants, the reduction is expected to be even stronger. The new special fund for Greece that is created in the review of the ETS Directive (that corresponds to the revenues from 25 million allowances for the period 2021-2030) will greatly contribute to that direction.

With regard to climate adaptation, and especially climate change that cannot be avoided despite the mitigation measures, for the first time there is an officially adopted national plan, a National Commission has been set up involving the co-responsible Ministries, NGOs, economic stakeholders and the academia, and an institutional framework for the drawing-up of regional strategies has been completed. All regional plans are expected to be completed by 2019. However, it is stressed that the coordinated actions of the state will be effective when climate adaptation be-comes a planning parameter of any future major country project. In addition, horizontal integration of climate change adaptation policies into sectoral development policies is recommended.

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