New counter-region for climate change in the TEE/TKM action plan for Central Macedonia

The creation of one new counter-region of climate neutrality, resilience and digital governance provides, among other things, the Action Plan of the Working Group which was presented to the Congress for “Climate neutral, resilient and smart Central Macedonia” from Central Macedonia Department of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE/TKM) and Region of Central Macedonia.

Also, the action plan of a total of eight objectives provides for the creation of a fund to subsidize companies active in carbon removal technologies, the promotion of green professions to support climate neutrality and the extraction of European funds.

THE George Tsakoumis, president of the TEE/TKM, referred to the need to maintain the projects and the change of their execution specifications. In fact, he did not fail to refer to the understaffing of the staff of the competent services.

In his greeting, the Minister of Energy and Environment, Theodoros Skylakakis, he said that the climate crisis will be with us for the next 30-40 years, “no matter what we do in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, because the effect is cumulative and you people in the technical world realize it.”

As the minister said, “what we do today will really start to change conditions decades from now. The phenomenon of the climate crisis leads us to new policies which we have already started and are implementing. Policies alongside our big forest reform and building reform to end indiscriminate building and start to rationalize the poor way we’ve built our cities and countryside to withstand this climate change, but and other actions. Actions for example mountain hydrology and the reform of all bodies that manage water, so that we increase efficiency and become much more capable in the face of these great challenges that the climate crisis brings us.”

The Deputy Minister of the Interior, responsible for Macedonian and Thrace issues, Stathis Konstantinidis, he said that it is very important that “we all contribute to the big change that is running to achieve the goals of climate neutrality, in order to make our cities resilient, greener and friendlier to our fellow citizens”.

The district governor Apostolos Tzizikostas he emphasized that the climate crisis is our new daily life and the new challenge for the entire planet, “that’s why there is no room for half-assedness and exaggerations”. He referred to the actions and projects of the Region for the planning and anti-flood shielding of the cities, as well as the countryside.

“The protection of the Region is an absolute priority for us. But it is required that significant resources be provided by the EU for the large anti-flood protection interventions”, noted Mr. Tzitzikostas.

Mr. Tzitzikostas also reiterated that “necessary institutional changes are needed to clarify responsibilities and carry out the necessary projects”.

The mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, stated that “we must work methodically for a resilient, greener, more sustainable Thessaloniki. However, as he emphasized, “our goals cannot be achieved with a magic wand. Responsibilities should be clarified and resources should be decentralized to deal with severe weather phenomena.

THE George – Stavros Kremlis, manager European Commission, circular economy & insularity advisor, said that although the institutional framework – the national climate strategy and targets – has been established, the implementation measures have not been taken.

Also, Mr. Kremlin stressed “the need for targeted adaptation strategies to the climate crisis at the level of municipalities, as is the case with the issue of addressing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

Wanting to show the criticality of the situation, he said that “our country has the longest coastline and this makes it more vulnerable to the climate crisis”, while he spoke of a new generation of climate migrants and estimated that the problem will intensify even more.

The deputy governor of Thessaloniki Kostas Yutikas he pointed out that “we alone cannot do much, of course all the agencies must work as a chain and have clear responsibilities”. Asked by the coordinator of the panel on “Environment and Climate Change”, journalist Alexandra Gouta, he answered that “for me it is clear that we will have problems in Central Macedonia, human lives will be at risk in similar severe weather phenomena, such as those in Thessaly”.

THE Matthew Santamouris, Professor in the Anita Lawrence Chair in High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales, one of Australia’s leading universities in research and education, stressed that “we are in uncharted waters” with climate change. “A large part of the planet is suffering from overheating and the change in temperature is extreme,” underlined Mr. Santamouris.