Blueprint for phasing out lignite usage
Greece is actualizing one of the most ambitious plans for energy and the environment, reflecting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ courageous decisions and international initiatives to tackle climate change, Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said in his address this week at the Net Zero Summit on Climate Pollution, co-organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the 26th UN summit on climate change, or COP26.
Skrekas focused his speech Wednesday on the program to rapidly phase out lignite. Greece is implementing a coherent policy framework, he stressed, citing the following actions as the main pillars for decarbonization: the rapid decommissioning of lignite-fired plants, the increased penetration of renewable energy sources so that they account for more than 60% of electricity generation by 2030, the support of natural gas as a bridge fuel, and energy conservation via a strong wave of building renovations and electrification, the energy minister said.
Skrekas further referred to a number of significant initiatives under way, such as the completion of the institutional framework for offshore wind farms and energy storage, as well as the preparation of Greece’s hydrogen strategy.
