The Greening the Islands (GTI) Observatory meeting took place in Heraklion, Crete on February 28th –March 1st 2019, hosted by the Region of Crete. The two-days meeting aimed to deepen on Crete’s status, needs and potential solutions on energy, water, mobility and waste, also through site visits, and to define better a shortlist of priority projects with the active participation of all key stakeholders: European Commission representatives, local government officials and technical departments, utilities, universities, local SMEs, and leading companies.
During the meeting, invited speakers Professor Theocharis Tsoutsos (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems Lab) and Professor Markos Papageorgiou (Dynamic Systems and Simulation Laboratory) of the Technical University of Crete, presented the status and main challenges on mobility in Crete.
Professor Theocharis Tsoutsos, also acted as moderator in the Mobility Session, presented the achievements and valuable experience gained from the Horizon 2020, CIVITAS DESTINATIONS project, focusing to key mobility measures aiming a) to launch and promote electromobility infrastructures and vehicles, b) to establish sharing mobility modes and the first dockless e-bike sharing system in Greece with 300 e-bikes, available for citizens and visitors, c) to shape a road safety and sustainable mobility culture for the next generations through behavioural change activities, d) to promote clean fuels and the an operational scheme for implementing locally a full Used Cooking Oil (UCO)-to-biodiesel chain.
Welcoming and keynote speeches were addressed by: Stavros Arnaoutakis – Regional Governor of Crete, Nikos Kalogeris (Vice Governor) and Eleni Hatziyanni (Director) of the Environment, Spatial Planning & Energy in the Region of Crete, George Kremlis - DG ENV-EU Commission, Honorary Director-EC mandated for Circular Economy and Insularity, Gianni Chianetta - Director of Greening the Islands, Carlo Drago - Greening the Islands Observatory Coordinator.
Greening the Islands is an innovative organization which promotes self-sufficiency and sustainability of islands worldwide, involving 200 islands in total so far and enabling cooperation between local authorities, business, citizens and academia. Along with Crete Region, they aim to involve Crete population in a new green growth strategy.
You may find the meetings' programme here.
