On behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which is also the coordinator of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project, the General Secretary of Natural Environment and Water, Petros Varelidis, stated:
"The effects of climate change are not only about the future, they are also about the present, as everyone realized after the catastrophic Mediterranean cyclone Daniel that hit Thessaly and even immediately after the huge forest fire in Evros. We must urgently change the way we design and build both critical infrastructure and other projects to increase their resilience to inevitable extreme weather events while limiting damage and costs. At the same time, we should also involve the insurance industry in terms of the cost of restoring the damages, since it is impossible for all the required amounts to come exclusively from the state coffers".
In the context of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project, a working meeting was held on Monday, 06 November 2023, for the adaptation to climate change in the Tourism and Insurance sectors which is part of the Project’s actions to inform and activate professional groups on the issues of adaptation to climate change.
The working meeting was organized and hosted by the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, a partner of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project, in the presence of the General Secretary of Natural Environment and Waters of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEEN), Petros Varelidis, and the General Secretary of the Academy of Athens and President of the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Environmental Sciences Foundation, Christos Zerefos.
For his part, the General Secretary of the Academy of Athens and President of the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, Christos Zerefos, pointed out:
"Businesses in Europe have realized the importance of adapting to climate change. Adaptation can cut the costs of climate change in half. Today's working meeting aims to inform two main sectors of the national economy, the tourism-hotel sector and the insurance sector. The need for a new strategy and new options in shielding the country in the rapidly developing global climate crisis will be emphasized. The recent results from the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project regarding the participation of the Academy of Athens and the Mariolopoulio – Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences will be presented”.
The President of the Institute of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), Giorgos Vernikos, the representative of the President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Martha Kesisoglou, the President of the Association of Greek Insurance Brokers (SEMA), Michalis Tzortzoris, the President of the Property, Reinsurance, Transport and Vessels Committee of the Association of Insurance Companies of Greece (EAEE), Errikos Moatsos, the Coordinator of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project (Ministry of Environment and Energy), Ioanna Tsalakanidou, the Director of the Center for Climate Change and Sustainability of the Bank of Greece (BoG), Theodora Antonakaki, the Head of Strategic Planning of the Athens Development and Tourism Promotion Company (EATA), Alexia Panagiotopoulou, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mariolopoulio – Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, the Academy of Athens, the National Observatory of Athens, of INSETE, SETE, SEMA, EAEE, TtE, etc., also attended the event and contributed with their key positions.
The successful completion of the working meeting confirmed, among other things, the need for further information, networking and cooperation of the professional groups for the adaptation of their business activity to climate change through the actions of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project.