Foreword
The principal aim of the OECD Environmental Performance Review programme is to help member and selected partner countries improve their individual and collective performance in environmental management by:
helping individual governments assess progress in achieving their environmental goals
promoting continuous policy dialogue and peer learning
stimulating greater accountability from governments towards each other and public opinion.
This report reviews the environmental performance of Greece since the previous review in 2009. Progress in achieving domestic objectives and international commitments provides the basis for assessing the country’s environmental performance. Such objectives and commitments may be broad aims, qualitative goals or quantitative targets. A distinction is made between intentions, actions and results. Assessment of environmental performance is also placed within the context of Greece’s historical environmental record, present state of the environment, physical endowment in natural resources, economic conditions and demographic trends.
The OECD is indebted to the government of Greece for its co-operation in providing information, for the organisation of the review mission to Athens (25-28 June 2019), and for facilitating contacts both inside and outside government institutions.
Thanks are also due to the representatives of the two examining countries, Tamar Raviv (Israel) and Mario Reis (Portugal).
The authors of this report were Britta Labuhn, Eugene Mazur, Alexa Piccolo and Frédérique Zegel from the OECD Secretariat. Nathalie Girouard and Frédérique Zegel provided oversight and guidance. Carla Bertuzzi provided statistical support, Shellie Phillips provided administrative support and Rebecca Brite copy-edited the report. Natasha Cline-Thomas provided communications support. Preparation of this report also benefited from inputs and comments from several members of the OECD Secretariat, including, Dimitris Diakosavvas, Catherine Gamper, Guillaume Gruère, Eeva Leinala and Dimitra Xynou as well as Peter Journeay-Kaler of the International Energy Agency.
The OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance discussed the draft Environmental Performance Review of Greece at its meeting on 26 February 2020 in Paris and approved the assessment and recommendations.
