Greece has been moving at a steady but slow pace on the issue of climate adaptation since establishing ESPKA in 2016. There are no actual adaptation projects underway, only the ongoing attempt to set up a framework that will eventually lead to designing and implementing adaptation policies.
In a November 2022 report, WWF Greece criticised that ESPKA is non-binding and “limited to conclusions, directions and advice,” and that the legal framework on adaptation is generally “deficient.” As for the regional plans, the “goals and measures or actions remain generic and the tools for their implementation are not available,” the WWF said.
One of the main problems so far is that adaptation plans have to be drafted and implemented on a regional level – but many local authorities are untrained, underfunded and understaffed. This is partly a result of Greece’s debt crisis of the 2010s, which left the country without the administrative and financial resources to implement a proper adaptation strategy, including a monitoring mechanism for the progression of adaptation projects. To overcome this problem, the Greek government applied to the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action (LIFE) to ask for the financing needed to coordinate the adaptation strategy, help regional authorities draft their plans, address the knowledge deficit on the impacts of climate change, and make climate data publicly available.
The “LIFE-IP AdaptInGR – Boosting the implementation of adaptation policy across Greece” initiative is scheduled to run until the end of phase one of the Climate Adaptation Strategy in 2026. AdaptInGR aims to educate and assist local authorities in putting together regional adaptation plans, collect data on the impacts of climate change, and raise awareness among the public. Adaptation projects are expected to be completed in five cities by 2026: in Larisa, Katerini, Kamatero, Rhodes, and Ilida.
To name one example: Larisa, which according to the latest report by the Bank of Greece is one of the regions that are suffering the most intense climate pressures. The city has integrated a pilot programme for schoolyards into AdaptInGR. One schoolyard will be paved over with less heat-absorbing materials and equipped with covered spaces to protect students both from heavy rain and heatwaves, while another will reappropriate and increase its green spaces with the use of smart benches powered by solar energy and systems that will use a nearby stream to water the plants. According to the city, these projects will address rising temperatures, reduce the use of resources and also use real-time monitoring of local meteorological indices to educate students.
The 14-million-euro budget of the AdaptInGR initiative, which currently spearheads the National Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change, is funded by the EU’s LIFE programme and Greece’s Green Fund. LIFE is also funding smaller, local adaptation projects, which are all the country has to show for now.
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