Anthropogenic climate change

Warnings about potential costs of anthropogenic climate change, calls for immediate action in a collective and personal level, but some promising signals the completion of the International Conference Athens Summit 2009, entitled «The Road to Copenhagen: Managing Climate Change and Energy Security in Southeastern Europe and beyond ». Representatives of political and economic life of the country, executives of multinational companies and some 500 scientists from Greece and abroad attended the colloquium organized by the Institute for Climate and Energy Security in cooperation with the Financial Times Global Events on 12 and 13 May in Hotel Athens Hilton. In view of the climate conference, which will take place in Copenhagen in December to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the focus of debate was the urgent need for cooperation between the governments of the world in the name of sustainable development and safeguarding the environment for future generations.

One promising alternative that could bring North Africa at the forefront of the battle against climate change and to end the energy insecurity of Europe presented by Saif al Islam al Gaddafi, son of Libyan president and chairman of the International Institute Philanthropy and Development Gaddafi. Facing the deserts as unique sources, the proposal is based on the use of strong winds and high temperatures prevailing in mostly uninhabited areas. The photovoltaic installation in just 0.3% of the total area of deserts of North Africa and the Middle East could, under this scenario, to provide cheap and clean electricity for the needs of the surrounding areas and the entire European Union.

Like all Mediterranean countries and Southeast Europe, Greece is expected to face serious problems because of climate change. Water scarcity, desertification of large areas, increasing sea level, reduced agricultural production, extreme weather events and mass extinction are some of the possible consequences, as revealed by the speech of Christos Zerefos, Professor of Meteorology at the University Athens. «We have passed the alert level 6», said President of the Institute for Climate and Energy Security, Andreas Papandreou, paralleling climate change on the pandemic threat and urging political and business leaders to mobilize for the future of the planet. Surprisingly, the issue of climate change are most concerned about public opinion in the countries of northern Europe, which are estimated to suffer less from it.
Although, thanks to sunshine, wind and sea, our country has inexhaustible natural resources for Renewable Energy, we remain the world's second list of the most oil dependent states, with 63%, according to Leonidas Drolla the Center for Global Energy Studies. The untapped energy potential of our country sought to highlight the adviser to the Danish Embassy in Athens, Jesper Ferslov Andersen: «I can not bring to mind another European country with the advantage», he said, arguing that wind turbines and solar installations collectors will not only harm tourism in our country, but it will strengthen. As noted repeatedly, the slow and painful increase the penetration of RES in Greece due to the lack of a clear energy strategy.

By the end of the century calculated that the planet will warm by one to five degrees, recalled Dimitri Zenghelis the LSE. The difference may seem small, but «the last time the Earth was five degrees warmer, the poles were covered with forests and inhabited by crocodiles», he added.

Stressing the importance of cooperation and mutual understanding between countries, stressed that the same market forces can contribute significantly to solving the problem, it is sufficient to provide the right incentives to act. An important role will be played by trade in emissions, from the moment you put in place a transparent and international mechanism for its regulation.

The delays in concluding a common binding agreement to combat climate change between the governments of the world due largely to the downturn until now the U.S. and the refusal of developing countries to contribute to the whole project without the active participation of the largest polluter in the world .

Obama The government has proposed reducing emissions by 16-17% by 2020, while promoting international cooperation with China on energy issues. However, the legislation would not have been passed by Congress until December, when, according to Joanna Lewis of the University of Georgetown, there is still a «gap» in the range of 25% in Europe and North America aims to reduce emissions.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging signs of the conference was to point out that we already have the technologies needed to stabilize atmospheric levels of CO2.

However, as the Professor Pantelis Kapros of NTUA, the wide adoption of innovative «green» technology requires a transition phase in industrial production process could be accelerated by incentives from the state. However, the president of the Greek Association of electricity from Renewable Energy Sources, George Peristeris stressed that we should use the existing technological means, instead of «waiting to mature commercial innovations, such as wave energy or capture and store carbon».

The financial crisis is a unique opportunity for green growth, supported by Professor Geoffrey Heal of Columbia Buisiness School, as prices of clean technologies are reduced while there is the possibility of using the unemployed labor force. To stabilize carbon dioxide levels, sufficient to invest 1% to 2% of global per capita income in energy-saving strategies and clean technology, say «much less than it cost us the crisis», he added.

Fossil fuels are cheaper than the ANA, supported by Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the Institute for Energy of the European Commission. However, existing disparities in the prices of both forms of energy due to subsidies, touching the 200 billion dollars worldwide for fossil fuels.

Willing to move towards sustainable development made by the representatives of the business community. They, however, economic incentives from the governments of the EU, the liberalization of energy market and the harmonization of legislation of Member States with Community law.


Just before bringing the twelfth hour, created the ground for social commitment to a vision of universal, non-partisan and universal. The solutions are painful: They involve conflicts of interest, cost burden for companies in industries sanctions, vigorously against powerful economic power systems, structural revisions policies. But the problem is more painful: always brings worse quality of life for more and more ».