The messages from the pre-election campaign were encouraging. The environment has been an important part of the political discourse and both of the main political parties have pledged to form a Ministry of the Environment.

For a country that has remained an environmental laggard in many respects, the transformation of words into action still remains to be seen.  The new government, to be formed by PASOK, is now called upon to take more robust action  to  tackle climate change.  Bellona Europa is coming forward with a set of suggestions to the new  Greek  government  regarding  climate  change  policy  and  expresses  its  resolve  to make a strong effort to see them realised. 

Strong Ministry of Environment 
A strong Ministry of Environment that will also have strong competence on  energy  policy  is  needed.  The combination of the environment and energy portfolios will enable the new  ministry  to  form  a  coherent  policy  that  will  allow  it  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  in  a  realistic  manner  that  takes  into  consideration the country’s specific energy needs and competencies.  
 
Realistic Long Term Energy Planning 
A detailed long‐term energy and emissions plan is required to describe tangible ways in which the country plans to reduce its GHG emissions dramatically until 2050.  This plan should describe separate short‐term and long‐term goals as well as specific strategies to achieve them.  As the country will be called upon, as a result of stricter EU legislation, to reduce its GHG emissions, for  the first time the pressure will increase on it to structure its energy choices according to a specific plan that responds to the imperative of combating climate change.

Effective Representation in International Fora  
Greece, as a climatically vulnerable country with a large coastline and remarkable biodiversity, needs a strong and consistent presence in international committees and organisations dealing with climate change. This is what national interest requires it to do.  Greece has been traditionally considered an EU and international foot-dragger in this field.

Raising Public Awareness 
The past few years have seen a remarkable raise of environmental awareness especially among the youngest Greek generation. As the ground is now fertile, this is a significant opportunity for the new government to raise wider awareness regarding the potential effects of climate change to the country and ways to tackle it. Such public campaigns are being carried out in other countries, like the UK with its Climate  Change  Impact  Programme that risk much less by a changing climate.  Why not Greece?
 
Moving forward with Renewables 
Despite its unique potential Greece has lagged in developing its solar energy and wind energy perspectives. Furthermore, with its vast coastline, growing both macro and micro algae for fuel and feed has a vast potential. In certain cases, applications for the development of photovoltaic parks have not been examined for more than two years after they were filed.

This has deterred small investors and multinational companies from investing in that field. A need to limit bureaucracy, provide strong incentives for investors and increase public education and acceptance is needed to realize Greece’s renewable energy potential.
 
Fast and effective Implementation of EU Directives 
Greece has traditionally failed to incorporate in a fast and advantageous manner EU environment‐related directives to its national law body.  The country has repeatedly been fined because of this  reason, as happened for instance because of violations  of  several  key  requirements  of  the  Waste  Framework  Directive. The fast implementation of Directives that could provide a pragmatic answer to the country’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions should be processed in a quick and serious manner.

Such a piece of legislation is the Directive on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, which would be a first step for the consideration of the prospects of CCS,  a technology which could provide a  medium‐term answer to the country’s reliance on dirty lignite for power supply.