“Athens is changing the Climate” –
The Municipality of Athens invites citizens, businesses and institutions to a public consultation on the Climate Crisis.

How can we reduce the city’s environmental footprint? How can we mitigate the impact of the climate crisis on Athens’ residents and businesses? How can we make Athens greener, more resilient and sustainable?

The Municipality of Athens, with the questionnaire “Athens is changing the climate”, gives a voice to the citizens of Athens, to institutions and individuals, inviting them to share their views on the climate crisis in our city, how it affects, what are its consequences and what they believe is of primary importance to tackle it.

Athens, like all large cities where a lot of human activity is concentrated, on the one hand contributes to the production of greenhouse gases and on the other hand is already facing the effects of climate change – rising temperatures and heat waves, sudden rains leading to floods, and recently even heavy snowfalls! Extreme weather events, especially extreme temperature rises and drops, not only worsen our daily lives and change our way of life, but also seriously affect our most vulnerable citizens, older or of smaller economic size. Today, all the major international political and economic organisations and scientific centres are now describing the climate crisis as the greatest threat that urban centres are facing and will face, with unforeseeable consequences for the health and safety of their inhabitants.

“Here in Athens, we are already experiencing the consequences of the climate threat, and there is no doubt that if we do not shield our city, life in Athens in a few decades will be difficult. Last year’s heatwaves and the recent snowstorm made that clear. The Municipality of Athens is updating the Athens Climate Action Plan, with the year 2050 as a marking point. The Plan is based on scientific data and is drafted to international standards. It aims at a more attractive city, with a sustainable local economy, and better everyday conditions for our citizens, businesses and visitors”, stresses the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis.

By participating in the public consultation, residents, businesses and organisations have the opportunity to highlight the issues that concern and affect them. Issues such as the quality of everyday life in the city, air quality, the environment, energy upgrading, waste management, the reuse of buildings, the upgrading of green spaces and culture are already areas where the Municipality of Athens plans and implements interventions with a “green” approach.

These issues have already been discussed in recent months in a series of small thematic workshops with guests from the public and private sector, from academia and research, as well as representatives from civil society, with the cooperation of Impact Hub Athens.