NEWS

Bank funds climate change study

A committee of eminent scientists is to investigate the long-term repercussions of climate change on the country’s economy, environment and society in a study financed by the Bank of Greece, the bank’s governor, Giorgos Provopoulos, said yesterday. The study, which started being drafted in March and is due for completion two years from now, is to be split into two phases: the assessment of the impact of global warming and the development of various scenarios followed by the evaluation of the financial repercussions of these changes. Provopoulos said such a comprehensive analysis, leading to concrete conclusions, was crucial for the future. «This is the only way that today’s citizens will start worrying, the youngest about how the world will be when they grow old, the older ones about what kind of world they will leave their children and grandchildren,» the bank’s governor said. «It is the only way that citizens can press their governments to take the necessary measures in time,» he added. According to professor Constantinos Drakatos, the head of the committee, the project will not only give useful insight about the economy. «It will also mark the beginning of a permanent system of monitoring the environmental consequences of economic decisions,» Drakatos said, adding that most committee members would be offering their expertise on a voluntary basis. The committee will be split into groups focusing on different areas such as water and energy. Professor Giorgos Stournaras, who will be coordinating the group focusing on water, said his team will assess the impact of global warming in sample areas. He said any insight that can be gleaned will be crucial. «We have entered an enduring and irreversible period of drought,» he remarked. A similar study will be conducted into the energy network with the aim of boosting efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions that drive climate change.

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