Greek Minister of Energy Kostas Skrekas and President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer have signed a financing agreement set to unlock plans for high-impact sustainable energy, green mobility, social housing and environmental investment, along with boosting employment in western Macedonia, especially in Kozani and Florina, as well as Megalopoli in the Peloponnese, in the years ahead. Communities across northern and southern Greece, traditionally dependent on coal and lignite mining and coal-fired electricity generation are set to benefit from up to 325 million euros in new investments and technical best practice backed by the EIB, as well as associated grants provided by the European Union. The agreement will directly benefit communities most impacted by the end of lignite and coal mining.
Minister Skrekas said that, two years ago, Greece announced coal phase-out by 2028. Such a momentous shift will inevitably pose a number of challenges for the local economies in western Macedonia and the Peloponnese which now rely heavily on lignite, as well as in the flexibility of the national electricity system. That is why experts from the Government and the EIB have been working tirelessly together to unlock targeted local investment backed by the European Just Transition Mechanism. The new cooperation between Greece and the EIB represents a major step in the transition to a new, sustainable economy not just for the areas which rely on lignite but for the whole of the country, concluded the Minister.
EIB President Hoyer said that Greece has taken bold steps to end lignite power generation and the agreement signed today will ensure that Greece benefits from targeted financing under the European Just Transition Mechanism and maximize the impact of the Just Transition Development Plan for the country.
