Greece places particular emphasis on achieving sustainable development and is strongly committed to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs, as they provide an ambitious, visionary and transformative framework for a new, equitable and sustainable development path. Ensuring that “no one is left behind” is a high political priority for Greece, as the country has recently existed a period of prolonged economic crisis.

In July 2018, Greece presented its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the 2018 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable development (HLPF). This VNR report covers all 17 SDGs through eight National Priorities for adapting the SDGs to national needs and circumstances. These eight overarching National Priorities have been defined through an open dialogue within all government units and with a wide array of stakeholders, and by an in-depth mapping exercise carried out in 2017.

Apart from the full VNR report, additional information on the Greek presentation at the HLPF is available here.

Following the national elections of July 2019, the task of monitoring and coordinating national implementation of the SDGs has equally been assigned to a key centre-of government entity, i.e. the Presidency of the Hellenic Government (the entity that now incorporates the former General Secretariat of the Government), in order to ensure policy coherence.  

Following the compilation of the country’s first VNR comprehensive report in 2018, a process that will lead to the elaboration of a “National Implementation Plan for the SDGs” is expected to be soon launched by the Greek government. This first National Implementation Plan for the SDGs is expected to have a 4year duration, be aligned with the provisions of the updated National Growth Strategy of the current Greek government and will aim to promote cross-sectoral approaches and actions among line Ministries.

At a broader level, the first “National Implementation Plan for the SDGs” will aim to foster the adoption of an integrated approach to the planning and implementation of the SDGs at different governance levels and across policy sectors promoting policy coherence for sustainable development. In particular, it will focus, inter alia, on further elaborating the national priorities on the SDGs embedded in the country’s first VNR, revisiting existing thematic legislation, strategies and policies building on them, and making them more “SDG aware” by improving their coherence. Moreover, it will aim to further operationalise activities on key cross-cutting priorities for the country (e.g. circular economy, social and solidarity economy, research and innovation, adaptation to climate change impacts, migration, water-food-energy nexus, education for sustainable development, nutrition-youth-health nexus etc) to be pursued through new horizontal cross-sectoral integration tools and arrangements that will produce a special added value for the process of implementing the SDGs in Greece. In parallel, the “National Implementation Plan for the SDGs” will seek to explore and promote selected key good practices, activities, policies and legislation which are mutually supportive of and interlinking more than one thematic SDGs. Another important aspect to be included in the “National Implementation Plan for the SDGs” is the local/regional dimension of the SDGs in Greece.

The “National Implementation Plan for the SDGs” will also aim to strengthen the science-policy interface as it is expected to include a list of national indicators for the quantitative monitoring of progress for implementing the SDGs at country level. These indicators are selected from the global SDGs indicator framework, from EUROSTAT as well as from other national indicators’ sets, will be aligned to national priorities and circumstances, and will take into account regular reporting obligations of national entities and Ministries.

Finally, in the next phase of SDGs implementation, emphasis will be given to strengthening social dialogue as well as to the involvement of the Hellenic Parliament in terms of follow up of the implementation of the SDGs in Greece, by providing reviews and political guidance with the overall aim to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development and integrate the SDGs further in legislative work.

SDGs 7 and 13

Greece has adopted its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) in 2019, setting a very ambitious national goal of 56% GHG emissions reduction by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, which demonstrates our commitment to contribute to the EU effort for climate neutrality by 2050. Moreover, in the light of the climate policy developments in the EU (i.e. new climate target for at least 55% reduction of GHG emissions and European Climate Law), Greece is currently in the process of formulating a national climate law, through public consultation, that will define concrete and updated national climate objectives. In this context, Greece also aims to revise its NECP and fully align it with the increase in of the European climate target for at least 55% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Already, Greece has embarked on a very ambitious front-loaded effort to fully de-lignitise its energy mix by 2028, with all but one existing lignite power plants expected to be decommissioned by 2023.

SDGs 12 and 14

Greece has adopted a National Strategy for Circular Economy since December 2018. Based on this, and taking into account recent developments at the EU level in 2019 and 2020 (e.g. the EU Green Deal and the new EU Circular Economy Action Plan), Greece finalized the elaboration of its new National Circular Economy Action Planin March 2021.

This new Action Plan includes a series of concrete actions to be implemented over the period 2021 – 2025 through increased cross-sectoral arrangements, and is building on recent national legislation, like Law 4736/2020 for incorporating EU Directive 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (the SUP Directive), the new National Plan for Waste Management as well as the new national Green Public Procurement National Plan. The opinion of the National Council for Circular Economy (a board of involved national professional producers’ associations) and of the Interministerial Committee for Circular Economy have been taken into account in drafting the new National Circular Economy Action Plan, ensuring a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach.

The Plan includes an analysis of the key entities in charge for the implementation of each one of the actions foreseen; it encompasses production, consumption, waste management as well as horizontal issues related to governance and administration; it focuses on products and services with a high circularity potential such as electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, food waste, and water use. The Plan is also coupled with an operational part where provisions for the monitoring of its implementation are analysed as well as with a presentation of the matching funding sources for its timely delivery. 

With regard to plastic pollution, as above mentioned, Greece has incorporated in its national legislation the EU SUP Directive (Directive 2019/904) with Law 4736/2020, in October 2020, much earlier than the date of entry into force of the Directive (July 2021) due to the importance given to the reduction of plastic waste generated at source and the promotion of more sustainable and reusable materials. The Law is expected to have a considerable positive outcome on urgently addressing plastic marine litter that negatively impact on marine ecosystems and on important economic activities such as tourism and fishing. 

The Law is guided by the principles and objectives of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, having a direct contribution to the achievement of SDGs 12 and 14. Based on this Law, Greece is committed to promote more sustainable materials and to reduce the most environmentally damaging single use plastic products, in particular single-use plastic beverage and food containers, at least by 30% by 2024, and at least by 60% by 2026 compared, to 2022.

SDGs 15 and 14

A new entity, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA)of Greece, has been established by Law 4685/2020 in September 2020: it is supervised by the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy (MoEE) and is responsible inter alia for coordinating and supervising the management bodies of the several protected areas of the country (that correspond to around 30% of land area and to around 20% of territorial waters of the country) for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems through a multi-stakeholder consultative approach, ensuring a high and effective conservation.

As all the SDGs have targets directly related to the responsibilities of local and regional governments, particularly to their role in delivering basic services, their involvement is essential for the successful attainment of sustainable development. Thus, there is constant close cooperation between the national, regional and local levels for the integrated and coherent implementation of the 2030 Agenda related-policies and there are numerous important activities and initiatives that take place country-wide, related to many SDG Goals and targets.

In this context, the former General Secretariat of the Government (GSG) together with various line Ministries have encouraged and facilitated consultation with multiple stakeholders engaged in the SDGs implementation process, including regional and local authorities, through the organisation of bilateral and multilateral meetings, participation in workshops and roundtable conferences, etc,  aiming to raise public awareness on the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda, promote the shared responsibility of all stakeholders and facilitate the sharing of experiences and lessons learned on the implementation of SDGs at a sub-national and local level.

EU linkages

Greece strongly supports the new EU Green Deal as an 'EU green development strategy' that is fully in line with the current government’s priorities: after a prolonged economic crisis, Greece aspires to become a paradigm for how a socially just transition to a circular, low-emission economy and climate action can create green jobs and economic growth building on the objectives and principles of the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At the EU level, the achievement of the SDGs has been recognized as an overarching priority of the European Green Deal, and the SDGs have already been included in the European Semester process (i.e. addition of priority on Environmental Sustainability in the EU Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020 and Annex E of Country Reports under the European Semester that presents progress across selected SDG indicators per country). The European Semester has also taken up the responsibility to assess the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) of  EU member States this year (to be funded under the EU Resilience and Recovery Facility - RRF) which should ensure a 37% of overall funds to  climate neutrality and alignment to the EU Green Deal objectives. In this context, the reforms and investment actions on Environment and Energy included in the Greek NRRP, are contributing directly to the sustainable development of the country and thus to the implementation of the SDGs.

More analytical, the investments foreseen on energy efficiency, renewables, innovative energy technologies including storage, biodiversity and forests protection, circular economy and adaptation to climate change impacts, have a direct positive outcome on achieving a green transition, with important parallel positive socio-economic results.

The work of the Presidency of the Government on coordinating the national implementation of the SDGs will be substantially supported and facilitated by the Inter-ministerial Coordination Network for the SDGs established in December 2016. This Inter-ministerial Coordination Network for SDGs brings together representatives from all line ministries, acting as focal points in charge of working on SDGs-related issues within their respective ministries and mainstreaming them in thematic legislation, policies and initiatives (see also above “National Implementation of 2030 Agenda for SD / Other Ministries involved”). It also comprises representatives from other governmental bodies belonging to the centre-of-government, and the Hellenic Statistical Authority.

The set-up of a robust long-term institutional mechanism encompassing a “whole-of-government” approach contributed to achieving better coordination between line Ministries, ensuring policy coherence “horizontally” across all policy sectors and enhancing Ministries shared commitment and responsibility in implementing the SDGs.

There are also several issue-specific co‑ordination and stakeholder consultation mechanisms at the national level, which include the National Climate Change Adaptation Committee, the Inter‑ministerial Committee on Energy and Climate, the Inter-ministerial Committee for the promotion of Electromobility, the National Council on Water, the Inter-ministerial Committee and the National Council on Circular Economy and the National Council for Spatial Planning. The abovementioned bodies comprise representatives from key Ministries, as well as other stakeholders such as regional and local governments’, social partners’ and NGOs’ representatives.

Moreover, in the Hellenic Parliament, there are a number of parliamentary committees that are responsible for elaborating and examining draft laws that fall within the various thematic areas of the SDGs, including poverty reduction, employment, healthcare and social protection, economic development, research and innovation, environmental protection and climate change. The draft laws are then debated and adopted in Plenary. Through this process, the Parliament contributes substantially to the comprehensive implementation of the SDGs framework and the promotion of the legislative and policy coherence for sustainable development.

The Hellenic Parliament is expected to play an instrumental role in the overall follow-up process of the SDGs implementation in Greece through joint parliamentary committees meetings to review progress, provide guidance to fine-tune line actions and ensure the mainstreaming of the SDGs in all legislative and policy frameworks with the overall aim to enhance further policy coherence for sustainable development.

In May 2019, the Inter-minsterial Coordination Network for the SDGs under the coordination of the former General Secretariat of the Government (GSG) and in consultation with the Hellenic Statistical Authority, endorsed a set of around 160 national indicators (around 90 of which selected from the global SDGs indicator framework and 70 from EUROSTAT, aligned to national priorities and circumstances and to the Ministries regular reporting obligations) for the quantitative monitoring of progress for implementing the SDGs.

This preliminary work will be further fine tuned and revised along the current policy priorities of the Greek government to better reflect needs for ensuring policy coherence between Ministries and the overall coordination and evaluation of the Government’s work, a task carried out by the Presidency of the Government. 

In terms of participation and consultation, and since the implementation of the SDGs goes far beyond the responsibilities of the government, particular emphasis has been given to multiple stakeholders engagement (civil society and social partners, the private sector, academia and research community, regional and local authorities) in the SDGs implementation process and awareness raising on SDGs at all levels.

In particular, an open dialogue with some of the major national stakeholders has taken place through the platform provided by the Economic and Social Council of Greece (ESC), the constitutionally recognized institution for the conduct of social dialogue. ESC is working, following the model of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), on the basis of a tripartite structure representing the interests of three main groups: (i) one of employers-entrepreneurs; (ii) one of public and private sector employees; and (iii) one including other categories of interests groups such as farmers, self-employed people, professionals, consumers, environmental agencies, disabled people's confederation, gender equality and multi-child associations, and regional and local government. The ESC elaborates and delivers policy proposals and Opinions on a broad range of SDGs-related issues, including economic growth, employment and labour market, social inclusion, migration and refugee flow, sustainable agriculture, business environment, and democratisation of governance. Within this context, the ESC issued in 2017 an Opinion regarding the UN 2030 Agenda and the priority objectives for Greece. In this Opinion, the ESC presented its views on the national prioritisation of the SDGs and submitted a comprehensive set of proposals regarding the effective implementation of key economic, social and environmental aspects of the SDGs at different levels and sectors (i.e. economic growth, employment and social protection, sustainable energy, industrialisation and innovation).

The ESC, local and regional authorities, academia and research institutes, the private sector, and civil society organisations have substantively contributed in 2018 to the drafting of the first VNR report of Greece, by providing information on the challenges faced in each thematic priority, the main priorities, activities and policies developed as well as good practice examples to meet these challenges.

At a broader level, regarding public participation and consultation on draft legislation and government policy initiatives, the general public, institutions and various stakeholders can access and submit comments on new legislative proposals, prior to their submission to the Parliament, through the government portal for public consultation.

A series of high-level multi-stakeholder Events have been organised to raise awareness on the SDGs and provide a space for multi-stakeholder interaction. The Events were organised either by the private sector (e.g. Conference of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises on the SDGs on 2 March 2017) or in the form of international Economic Fora (i.e. the Concordia Economic Summit organized in Athens, on 5-6 June 2017) where Government representatives participated to provide their views on how the country should adopt and adapt the SDGs to national circumstances, or they were organised by Ministries, like the Conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the General Secretariat of the Government on how to address “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development” (Athens, 7 March 2017) as well as the Dialogue organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy / National Center for Environment and Sustainable Development  with environmental NGOs on the environmental dimension of the SDGs (Athens, 15 March 2017) that produced very fruitful results regarding the national prioritization process.

With regard to youth in particular, several Events and Workshops have taken place with Academia and the involvement of the Synod of Rectors in Universities for the awareness raising of the student and academic community with the most recent Event particularly focusing on “Promoting Opportunities for Youth Engagement for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals” organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Athens, 27 November 2019).

Stakeholders’ engagement in the SDGs implementation process is expected to be further enhanced through involvement in the elaboration and implementation of the National Implementation Plan for the SDGs.

In view of the European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) 2021 taking place in 20-26 September, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, as the national focal point for ESDW, disseminates information and calls upon all stakeholders to organise and register their SDGs-related activities in the ESDW web platform, in order to further promote awareness on sustainable development and the SDGs. This year’s initiatives are organized by a wide range of stakeholders such as Universities, civil society organisations, municipalities, businesses, etc. The initiatives cover all SDGs, with topics connected to economic, social, environmental and cultural issues. Their aim is to raise collective awareness about the 2030 Agenda. In doing so, they are addressed to various target audiences, including local community and students, and most of them are of interactive format, in order to enhance the participants’ engagement.

Several initiatives aim to raise awareness and citizen participation for the SDGs at local level. For example, a weekly radio programme on the municipal radio station of Athens, organized in cooperation with the UN, was dedicated entirely to the SDGs (in 2018-2019), presenting and analyzing each one of the SDGs to the general public, each week. Another example is the promotion of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in large Greek cities. The participation of municipalities implementing sustainable urban mobility interventions in the European Mobility Week, in terms of awareness raising, has increased remarkably over the past years, growing from 8 municipalities in 2013 to 86 in 2019, with many of them also ranking in the list of the 10 finalist European cities to receive a Sustainable Urban Mobility Award. In this context, the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy introduced in 2015 the “Greek Award for the European Mobility Week”, under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic. The award is given to the 10 best Greek municipalities participating in the European Mobility Week campaign, based on their achievements and commitment to the campaign goals.