2023-06-15 16:15:28
National and European resources will soon begin to flow to Ioannina, but also to the other six Greek cities participating in the European mission for climate neutral and smart cities, although the process of drawing up a comprehensive plan is still in its infancy.
This became clear at the meeting of the representatives of the six cities as well as of Limassol, Cyprus, with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Environment and the Mission Board “100 Climate Neutral Cities by 2030”, with time pressing, since there are approximately 80 months left for the goal achievement.
Nevertheless, it is estimated that the Greek cities and Limassol are at an advanced stage, as the establishment of the Network under the name Climanet was signed on the Island of Ioannina, a process that has been preceded by only three European countries participating in the European mission.
Present at the founding signing of the Network were the mayor of Trikala and president of KEDE Dimitris Papastergiou, the mayor of Kozani Lazaros Maloutas, the deputy mayor of Athens Christos Tedomas, the deputy mayor of Thessaloniki Michalis Koupkas, the deputy mayor of Kalamata Nikolaos Basakidis and the municipal councilor, chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Municipality of Limassol Haris Trikis.
On behalf of the Municipality of Ioannito, the founding deed was signed by the mayor Dimitris Papageorgiou, who opened the proceedings of the meeting. “We chose to organize this event on the Island, as our vision is to make it energy independent. The effort and struggle of all of us is to mobilize the citizens, so that they realize the magnitude of climate neutrality and become part of the initiatives and actions that we will undertake in the next period”, said Mr. Papageorgiou.
The wishes of the Metropolitan of Ioannina Maximos were conveyed by Abbot Kallinikos, while on behalf of the Region of Epirus the Deputy Governor Kostas Siaravas emphasized that the Region prioritizes actions that respond to climate change by committing significant resources during the new programming period.
Mr. Papastergiou noted the need “to change the cities, to change the attitudes”. “Today we are setting up the network to join forces, put pressure on the state and get the extra support. But the most difficult thing is to change attitudes. So, we are making an important start with the Network and we will gradually succeed, using financial tools, to achieve the common goal”, emphasized Mr. Papastergiou.
The programs implemented by the Ministry of Environment for energy saving were presented by the general secretary Alexandra Sdoukou, who announced that 100 million will be allocated in the next period to finance energy communities of the local government, among them the Municipality of Ioannita.
The general secretary of Spatial Planning, Efthimios Bakoyannis, emphasized that the networking, in which the six Greek cities are proceeding, can be an example for the rest of Europe, while he announced that in the immediate future, an amount of 20 million euros will be allocated to the six Greek cities in order to proceed with the preparation of the necessary studies or the financing of projects. “The General Secretariat is next to this effort with national strategies, strategies such as the financing of urban studies from the Recovery Fund. We will be next to the municipalities to organize the climate neutrality agreements”, he underlined.
Aspects of the European Mission for the 100 climate neutral cities with a central axis “from and to the citizens” were analyzed by the members of the Mission Board “100 Climate Neutral Cities by 2030” Chrysis Nicolaidis and Maria Vassilakou.
“We need an action plan supported by regional and national authorities. The mission is working on plans to achieve the goal of climate neutrality and the Network will be the most important mechanism,” said Mr. Nikolaidis.
“Achieving climate neutrality for a city is a feat, it is also the biggest bet of the century. No one has the recipe ready, so we decided to open the way. In the coming months, the real work begins”, emphasized Mrs. Vasilakou.
The event also showed the joining of forces at the local level, in order to achieve the goals of the mission, as representatives of the University of Ioannina, the Epirus branch of the TEE, the businesses of the Industrial Area and the Bank of Epirus attended and were appointed.
The vice-chancellor of the University of Ioannina, Ioannis Leonardos, noted that the university will be a fellow traveler and presented actions it implements for the energy upgrade, as well as those planned for the completion of this intervention on the campus.
The president of TEE Epirus, Ioannis Tsigros, described TEE as a strategic partner of the Municipality, with the main priority being the contribution to every action to reduce the energy footprint. “The TEE participates in the effort with the Municipality through a signed memorandum and will support with all its strength the path towards climate neutrality”, said Mr. Tsigros.
The president of the Association of Businesses of the Greek Chamber of Commerce, Lefteris Arambatzis, made it known that the companies of Biomichaniki, in collaboration with ETVA, have submitted an investment plan of two million to the Recovery Fund for the energy saving and digital transformation of the businesses established in the Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The president of the Cooperative Bank of Epirus, Konstantinos Zonidis, welcomed the initiative to establish the non-profit company “ClimaNet Network” for the cooperation of the cities selected by the European Commission, expressing the Bank’s support for the project.
“We encourage the implementation of green policies for the transformation of Ioannina into a climate-neutral and smart city, we provide modern financial tools and create the conditions for the development of innovation and the strengthening of our country”, stressed the CEO Giannis Vougioukas .
Finally, the Director of Financing of the Cooperative Bank of Epirus, Christoforos Saplaouras, presented the financial programs through which the Bank can contribute to climate neutrality and the well-being of Epirus.
In the second part of the event, which was coordinated by the deputy mayor of Ioannina Giorgos Arletos, the presentation of the Cooperation Network for the Climate Neutrality of the cities of Greece and Cyprus took place and the conclusions of the meeting were codified by the jurist Konstantinos Karatsolis.
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