With the welcome from the President of the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences and Secretary General of the Academy of Athens, Christos Zerefos, and the greetings from the Secretary General of the Natural Environment and Waters of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Petros Varelidis, and the Head of the General Directorate of Public Health and Quality of Life, Fotini Koulouri, the working meeting began on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, on the topic of “Adaptation to Climate Change in the Public Health Sector”, which was organized and hosted by the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, partner of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project.
This event is part of the information and networking activities of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project, and aims to create a circle of contacts between professional groups, as well as to exchange knowledge and experience of their sector on issues of climate change and adaptation to it. This is the 4th working meeting in a row, while previous meetings have been held with representatives of agriculture and livestock, tourism and insurance, as well as the shipping and shipbuilding sector.
On behalf of the Mariolopoulio – Kanagkinio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, the General Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Foundation and Professor of Medicine at the National University of Athens, Polyxeni Nikolopoulou – Stamati, emphasized the impact of climate change on public health and the urgent need to adopt targeted measures and policies to protect it.
The speakers’ statements followed, starting with Professor at the National University of Athens, Panagiotis Nastos, on the challenges of climate change in relation to the bioclimate and public health. Then, Professor of Medicine at the National University of Athens, Theodora Psaltopoulou, analyzed the correlation of climate change with viral infections, while Associate Professor at the National University of Athens, Lefkothea Evrenoglou, focused on the relationships of climate change with humans, the environment and living beings. Finally, the Service Secretary of the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, Vasiliki Karaouli, referred to the climate crisis and vulnerable social groups, while the Coordinator of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project made a brief presentation of the Project and its contribution to undertaking actions in key areas of interest.
Also present were executives from the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project, the Mariolopoulio-Kanaginio Foundation for Environmental Sciences, the Academy of Athens, the Bank of Greece, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, the Ministry of Health, the National Meteorological Service, the Public Employment Service, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, including the Vice-Rector of the University of Athens, Christos Karagiannis, the University of West Attica, etc.
The working meeting concluded with the fruitful dialogue that developed between the attending representatives of institutions, highlighting the need, on the one hand, for adaptation to climate change in the public health sector, and on the other hand, for the activation of professional groups on climate change adaptation issues through the corresponding actions of the LIFE-IP AdaptInGR Project.