Backlash grows over Greek energy deregulation law
Source: The Guardian
Backlash grows over Greek energy deregulation law
Campaigners fear damage to protected regions by companies exploiting their resources
Helena Smith in Athens
Thu 11 Jun 2020 08.00 BST
Last modified on Thu 11 Jun 2020 08.54 BST
The Greek government is facing growing opposition over a controversial environmental super-law passed when debate and public consultation were curtailed by lockdown measures imposed as a result of the pandemic.
Resistance has intensified as part of a grassroots revolt over legislation that critics contend will irrevocably change the face of Greece.
“It was passed in the most undemocratic way with very few MPs and when citizens were forced to stay at home and couldn’t react,” said Yorgos Tsamis, an activist educator on the frontline of a mass protest against the reform in Athens last week. “What is at stake is the future of the country, its mountains, valleys, coasts and animal species.”
Opponents argue the sweeping legislation allows wind parks to be installed on rocky isles, and protected areas of world-class biodiversity and beauty to be exploited by the oil and gas industry.
As the country increasingly adopts renewable energy, international companies are lining up to exploit its natural resources, including by placing industrial-sized turbines on windswept Aegean islands and mainland mountain ridges. For firms behind the proliferation of solar plants, Greece’s plentiful sun can be harnessed year round.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/11/backlash-grows-over-greek-energy-deregulation-law
