UN

Greek pavilion for first time at upcoming COP28 conference

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Greece will have its own national pavilion at a UN climate change conference for the very first time when officials meet for a 28th edition, COP28, in Dubai November 30 to December 12, sources have informed.

Over 25 events are planned by the energy ministry to promote Greek energy projects contributing to the energy transition, the sources noted.

The country’s presence at the conference with an independent pavilion comes following intensive efforts since last year. The Greek pavilion will provide a platform for crucial Greek energy projects.

At the preceding event, COP27, the then-Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Resources, Alexandra Sdoukou, now the deputy energy minister, had presented a GR-Eco Islands initiative, involving small islands that can serve as examples, models and case studies for green sustainability as a whole.

At COP28, the energy ministry will be organizing – with Sdoukou at the helm – a series of events showcasing, internationally, the country’s initiatives on sustainable development, green energy and energy transition. DESFA, the gas grid operator, IPTO, the power grid operator, and SEV, the Hellenic Association of Industrialists, will be involved, as will Enterprise Greece, the official investment and trade promotion agency of the Greek State.

COP26 starts with disappointing G20 result, lacking commitment

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The biggest challenge to be faced by world leaders at the crucial UN COP26 summit talks on climate, now underway in Glasgow, could well be the disappointing outcome at a meeting of G20 countries, which agreed on the need to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels but fell short of making specific commitments to achieve this goal.

The COP26 summit, seen as crucial for saving the planet from climate change effects, was delayed by a year as a result of the pandemic.

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will save the planet from catastrophe, scientists believe.

Nearly 200 countries had signed the 2015 Paris accords on climate change, but far greater diplomacy and political will is needed for tougher commitments.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Glasgow today to deliver a speech before an audience of world leaders.

The Greek leader’s speech is expected to highlight the country’s decarbonization objectives; significant RES production increase and more ambitious targets and plans, including installation of offshore wind farms; Greece’s green island plans and innovative programs being implemented; initiatives for an eco-friendly shipping industry; and measures for the environmental protection of ecosystems.

 

Fires, UN climate change report to raise NECP objectives

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Not long after the European Green Deal and the European Commission’s decision to reduce greenhouse emissions by 55 percent, compared to 1990 levels, the National Energy and Climate Plan will, once again, need to be revised into an even more ambitious strategy following the extensive wildfires around Greece over the past week or so that have scorched over 90,000 hectares of land in Evia, the northern section of the wider Athens area, as well as the Peloponnese.

The climate change crisis and faster ascent to a global temperature limit set by scientists, as highlighted in a UN report released yesterday, increases the sense of urgency for an even more ambitious NECP, a challenge of paramount importance for the government, as it is  expected to made clear in coming days.

New NECP figures have yet to emerge, but a government committee has already delivered a gap analysis with new policies and measures that need to be tabled. A deeper analysis of the data, in association with external scientific associates, will soon follow before revised targets are set.

The RES sector, according to the country’s latest NECP, is expected to constitute at least 35 percent of energy consumption by 2030, but this goal will now surely be raised.

 

Enel’s Francesco Starace named chief at SEforALL, supporting SDG7

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Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), a non-profit international organization that works closely with the United Nations to accelerate and deliver at scale the solutions needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – by 2030, has appointed Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Enel S.p.A., as Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board, SEforALL has announced in a statement.

With less than 10 years to meet SDG7, and with increasing urgency for the world to get on track to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals, SEforALL’s role in driving a global clean energy transition has never been more important, Starace, who has been CEO and General Manager of Enel, one of the largest utilities in Europe, since May 2014, begins in the role with immediate effect.

Speaking on the announcement, Elizabeth Cousens, Vice-Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board, and President and Chief Executive Officer of the UN Foundation, noted: “Francesco is a visionary energy leader with a long track record in driving business ambition around climate action, sustainability, and energy access for hundreds of millions of  people around the world who lack it. He is a natural choice for this important role at such a critical moment. With SEforALL’s unique mandate from the UN to drive SDG7 action in line with the Paris Agreement, his leadership can help support the organization go even further and faster to achieve our goal of universal energy access.”

As Chair of the Administrative Board – the principal governing body of the organization – Mr. Starace will help shape strategy and operations for the organization at the highest levels. Mr. Starace currently also serves as a member of the UN Global Compact Board of Directors and the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty. He previously served as a member of the former SEforALL Advisory Board and President of EurElectric, the European association for the electricity industry.

“Energy must be at the heart of the global agenda to lead the world on a more sustainable pathway, focusing multi-stakeholder action especially on renewables and energy efficiency, which are key for delivering on the goals of energy access and climate mitigation. I am very proud to join SEforALL and to support its efforts for the clean energy transition and to work together toward achievement of SDG 7,” noted Starace. “My main objective as Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board will be to cooperate with leading actors to accelerate the critical shift to a more sustainable, modern and accessible energy for all. I have great confidence in SEforALL leadership and its unique strengths to tackle the complexity of the energy challenges and to support ensuring the fundamental right to electricity for everyone, globally.”

The announcement comes after SEforALL recently released a new three-year business plan to help drive scaled action towards sustainable energy for development and energy transitions. The ambitious plan recognizes the need to strengthen global advocacy while expanding activities that prioritize data-driven decision-making, strategic partnerships and country-specific implementation.

Welcoming his appointment, Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said: “With ambitious action we can still achieve SDG7 by 2030, but the next few years are critical to increase energy access – especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. SEforALL’s leadership is pivotal to deliver this vision and why I’m delighted to welcome Francesco Starace as our new Chair of the Administrative Board. Francesco brings incredible experience that can help SEforALL deliver an energy transition that is truly inclusive, equitable and leaves no one behind.”

Rescue talks for Prinos, Greece’s only producing field, making progress

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Talks between Energean Oil & Gas and officials at the energy and economy ministries for a solution to rescue offshore Prinos, Greece’s only producing field in the north, are making progress, sources have informed.

Heightened Turkish provocations in the Aegean Sea over the past few days – the neighboring country sent a survey vessel into Greece’s EEZ – and greater US presence in the wider southeast Mediterranean region, are two developments that have injected further urgency into the Prinos field rescue talks.

The east Mediterranean is at the core of geopolitical developments that promise to create new political and energy sector conditions.

US oil corporation Chevron, America’s second-biggest energy group, has joined fellow American upstream giant ExxonMobil in the east Mediterranean with a five billion-dollar acquisition of Noble Energy.

This takeover by the California-based buyer adds to the Chevron portfolio the gigantic Leviathan gas field in Israel’s EEZ, as well as the Aphrodite gas field, situated within the Cypriot EEZ and estimated to hold 4.5 trillion cubic feet.

It also offers Chevron prospective roles in the East Med pipeline, to supply Europe via the Leviathan field, and Egypt’s LNG infrastructure, all elevating the petroleum group into a dominant regional player.

Israel and Cyprus recently ratified the East Med agreement, as has Greece, while Italy appears to be examining the prospect.

In another regional development, the Total-ENI-ELPE consortium is preparing to conduct seismic surveys at licenses south and southwest of Crete, and an environmental study southeast of Crete has been approved by Greek authorities. Also, oil majors with interests in Cyprus’ EEZ have planned a series of drilling operations for 2021.

Meanwhile, Turkey, trespassing into both Greek and Cypriot EEZ waters, consistently cites a memorandum recently signed with Libya as support for its actions, as well as its refusal to sign the UN’s International Law of the Sea treaty, strongly disagreeing with an article that gives EEZ and continental shelf rights to island areas.

Greek government officials are well aware that closure of the Prinos field amid such precarious conditions would lead to major consequences, not just economic and social, as would be the case under normal conditions, but also geopolitical.

Turkish-Libyan MoU ‘ignores’ International Law of the Sea

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A Turkish-Libyan Memorandum of Understanding emphatically ignores article 121 of the International Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), which recognizes Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf rights for island areas, and overlooks the existence of Crete, Karpathos, Kasos, Rhodes and Kastellorizo to carve out approximately 39,000 square kilometers of Greek territory south of Crete for Libya, petroleum geologist and energy economist Dr. Konstantinos Nikolaou, a former member of the board at the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company, has pointed out in an analysis, spelling out the dangers of Turkey’s provocative behavior in the region.

Turkey misappropriates the continental shelf and EEZ associated with Crete, Karpathos, Kasos, Rhodes and Kastellorizo in the east Mediterranean, he noted on the MoU, submitted by Turkey to the UN in an effort to make gains at Greece’s expense.

Hydrocarbon licenses for plots south and southwest of Crete that have been awarded by the Greek State to Total, ExxonMobil and ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, set a precedent that backs the positions of Greece, whose division of the area is based on International Law of the Sea guidelines, Nikolaou highlighted.

Turkey is using its state-run petroleum corporation TPAO as a tool to exercise foreign policy for territorial gains, Nikolaou added.

Natural gas discoveries in the east Mediterranean serve as a major driving force behind the actions of Turkey, whose energy sector is import-dependent, he pointed out.

Greek Energy Forum joins EU workgroup of natural gas experts

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The Greek Energy Forum (GEF), an international non-governmental organisation operating as a network for Greek energy professionals, has been inducted into the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Workgroup of Natural Gas Experts, as an official member, GEF has announced in a statement.

The UN, as is widely known in the energy industry, consistently supports global initiatives for the promotion of sustainable energy and, within this context, has established a group of gas experts in order to support the achievement of the targets recently agreed to at COP 21, the Paris Global Summit on Climate Change.

The Greek Energy Forum’s addition to the group will allow the forum’s members to offer specialized and rich expertise with the aim of helping the UN workgroup determine the best policies that may boost the penetration of natural gas in the energy mix.

More specifically, the forum will join two United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) taskforces. The first, Taskforce A, aims to determine the best policy practices on the role of natural gas in the increasing uptake of renewable energy in the ECE Region and also help achieve the objective of providing energy access to all ECE Region members. In addition, as a member of Taskforce B, the Greek Energy Forum will seek to offer Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) guidance for optimal policies.

These taskforces are manned by representatives of national governments, national and intergovernmental regulatory bodies, non-governmental organisations, energy companies and academic institutions across the globe.

Just days ago, on April 21 and 22, the third session of the Group of Gas Experts in UNECE was held at the UN Headquarters in Geneva (Palais De Nations).

Greece and the Greek Energy Forum were represented by the GEF chairman, Alexandros Lagakos, who was also invited to attend as a guest speaker.

Lagakos presented an update on the progress and the ongoing steps towards the development of southeastern Europe into an efficient regional gas market. In particular, he analysed the impact of the ongoing and planned infrastructure projects (interconnections, storage) in the region, the progress of hydrocarbon exploration and extraction tenders, as well as the prospects of the addition of new sources into the Balkan region’s gas supply mix.