EU Funding programme 2021-2027: Towards a Green Transition in the Ionian Islands

 

A few days before the formal submission of the Ionian Islands Regional Program 2021-2027 to the European Commission, the Green Tank and the Ionian Environment Foundation emphasize the need to further strengthen the green transition of the Region.

A draft of the Ionian Islands Regional Program 2021-2027 was recently presented in a teleconference organized by the Managing Authority of the Ionian Islands Region, under the Ionian Islands Regional Governor, Ms. Rodi Kratsa.

Seeking to contribute to the final formulation of the program, the Green Tank and the Ionian Environment Foundation submitted to the Managing Authority a joint text of comments and recommendations that concern, inter alia:

  • promoting a sustainable tourism model,
  • energy saving in combination with other investments from productive sectors of the economy, and
  • the need to better integrate nature-based solutions to prevent climate-related risks.

 

“It is very positive that the Program sets as a vision the shaping of the Ionian Islands Region as a ‘sustainable place’ with this aim cross-cutting many of its objectives. However, the specialization that will enhance the transformation of different sectors of its economy, making use of all the resources available during the period 2021-2027 is still lacking“, said Ioli Christopoulou, Policy Director of the environmental think tank, the Green Tank, commenting on the text that has been made public.

It is pointed out that in previous rounds of consultation, the detailed report of Green Tank, titled “Funding opportunities for a sustainable future in the period 2021-2027“, which identifies funding opportunities for the coming years to implement actions that can combine the achievement of environmental and climate goals with sustainable development was presented. The report was prepared as part of a project co-financed by the Cyclades Preservation Fund (CPF), the Ionian Environment Foundation and the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Konstantakopoulos Foundation.

“As a Foundation that supports local efforts to protect the natural environment, we have met a large number of institutions and non-governmental organizations operating in the different Ionian Islands, with sensitivity but also concern for the future. These bodies, by participating in the implementation of the new Regional Program 2021-2027, can be partakers so that the Ionian Islands be first in the line of the green transition“, noted Costas Kaloudis, Executive Director of the Ionian Environment Foundation, emphasizing the need for civil society to be included in the beneficiaries of the new Programme.

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