Environment at a Glance Indicators

Greece

This country profile features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, biodiversity, and selected policy responses to these issues. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.

Context

Greece has a small, service-based economy (mostly trade, transport, accommodation and food, and real estate activities). Tourism is a vital driver of the Greek economy and agriculture is also more important than in most other OECD countries. The country underwent extensive economic reforms to cope with a deep recession following the 2008 financial crisis. The economy started to recover in 2017, supported by rising goods exports and tourism. However, the gap in a gross domestic product (GDP) per person relative to the OECD average remains high, and as most tourism-dependent economies, it has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a decade of steady growth, population has been decreasing since 2010 due to a reduced fertility rate and, until 2015, negative net migration. Although a majority of people live in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants (the Athens and Thessaloniki metropolitan areas account for 43% of the population), about one third of the population lives in rural, often sparsely populated, areas.

Greece covers an area of about 129 000 km² in South Eastern Europe. Its topographic diversity, including mountains, a lengthy coastline and thousands of islands, contributes to its considerable biological wealth. The country hosts abundant European and Mediterranean flora and fauna, including endemic species, and a wide variety of ecosystems and habitats, many of which are of international interest. Greece is more generously endowed with freshwater resources than other Mediterranean countries.

Environmental governance is highly decentralised at regional and municipal level.

Climate change

Per person intensities of both production-based and demand-based CO₂ emissions (footprints) are below the OECD average and close to the European one.

Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions peaked in 2005 and have since declined due to the reduced economic activity and related energy demand during the recession and to the increase in renewables use. Greece remains a carbon-intensive economy due to its high reliance on coal and diesel for electricity generation (especially on the non-interconnected islands). The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and associated reduction in activity and consumption led to a further decline (-13%) of emissions in 2020.

Energy mix

Greece does not use nuclear energy. Over the past decade there has been a shift from oil and coal to natural gas and renewables. Renewables (mainly wind and solar photovoltaics) have increased thanks to feed-in tariffs and decreasing technology costs.

Air quality

Air emissions

Emissions of most major air pollutants have decreased mainly thanks to the reduction in energy consumption, abatement measures such as flue gas desulphurisation, changes in the electricity mix (increased use of gas and renewables, decommissioning of old coal power plants), reduction of fuels’ sulphur content and the scrapping of old vehicles. Greece reached its 2020 Gothenburg Protocol objectives for sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides NOx, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and ammonia (NH₃) emissions.

In the past decade, concentrations of the main air pollutants have decreased on par with reduced economic and transport activity, scrapping of old vehicles and increased use of natural gas. Average population exposure to fine particles (PM_2.5) remains nevertheless well above the new guideline value of 5 µ/m³ recommended by the World Health Organization.

Higher heating oil prices have pushed households to switch from oil to wood for heating, causing severe winter episodes of pollution by particulates. Natural sources, such as Saharan dust, are a significant factor for particulate pollution, especially in southern Greece.

Freshwater resources

Use of freshwater resources

Greece is endowed with relatively abundant freshwater resources, putting the country under only moderate stress at the national level despite high abstraction levels (partly owing to leakage in the distribution system). Per person abstractions of water for public supply steadily increased since 2007, partly owing to leakage in the distribution system.

Greece has made progress in wastewater treatment in large agglomerations. Most wastewater is treated in plants with tertiary (“advanced”) treatment but 5% of wastewater is dealt with by individual systems.

Waste, materials and circular economy

Municipal waste

Municipal waste generation per person is relatively high compared to Greece’s low income levels; this is partly due to waste from tourism. After a decrease following the 2008 financial crisis, since 2013, generation of municipal waste is on the rise again. Greece has one of the highest landfilling rates in the OECD, due to lack of infrastructure for sorting recyclables at source, low public awareness and lack of relevant economic instruments.

Material consumption

During the economic crisis (2008-10), domestic material consumption (DMC) decreased faster than GDP as construction and coal extraction activities declined. Material productivity improved as a result. The share of non-metallic minerals in DMC is relatively low, while that of fossil energy carriers is high.

Biodiversity

Greece’s artificial land coverage is below the EU average but above the OECD one. The country has registered a shift from pasture and agricultural land to urban areas since 1990, resulting in habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Construction of tourist facilities and secondary residences in coastal areas, has been a strong driver of continued urbanisation. The motorway network has doubled between 2007 and 2017. These developments inhibit the natural functions of soils, contributes to the degradation of natural habitats and intensifies pressure on biodiversity. The direct causes of biodiversity loss are: loss, modification, degradation and fragmentation of natural and semi-natural habitats; unsustainable practices used in several types of production activities; climate change; soil, water and air pollution; biological invasions; and forest fires.

Greece hosts abundant European and Mediterranean flora and fauna, and a wide variety of ecosystems and habitats, many of which are of international interest. Endemism is high and many endemic species have a limited spread (e.g. a single island). Around 23 000 animal species have been recorded in terrestrial ecosystems, 17% of them endemic, while marine environments are home to around 3 500 animal species. The 2009 edition of Greece’s red data book for plants includes 258 species of plants as threatened and two as considered extinct. The 2009 edition of the red data book for animals includes 468 species (171 vertebrates and 297 invertebrates) as threatened.

Protected areas

According to national data, protected areas cover 35% of the territory, while marine protected areas account for 20% of territorial sea (corresponding to 5% of EEZ as shown in the graphic, see definition). Greece has met the 2020 Aichi targets (under the Convention on Biological Diversity) to protect at least 17% of land area and exceeded the 10% target for coastal and marine areas. However, only a limited number of sites have strict management objectives (IUCN categories I and II). Only about 1.4% of the country’s land is covered by protected areas that have had management effectiveness assessments and the same is true for 0.1% of the EEZ. Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) evaluations, can be defined as: “the assessment of how well protected areas are being managed – primarily the extent to which management is protecting values and achieving goals and objectives" (Hockings et al. 2006).

Policy instruments

This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.

Environmentally-related taxation

After the 2008-09 financial crisis, Greece has undertaken major reforms to remedy its longstanding weakness in tax collection and compliance, as part of its economic adjustment programmes. As a result, in 2020 Greece recorded the highest levels in the OECD of revenue from environmentally-related taxes as a share of GDP. The share increased from 2.7% in 2010 to 3.9% in 2021, due to increased energy taxation, which as in most OECD countries, accounts for the bulk of revenue from environmentally-related taxes. Taxes related to transport (excluding fuels) generate most of the remainder. Greece is among the few OECD countries that do not raise revenue from other environmentally-related taxes (single-use plastic bags is a recent exception).

Government support to fossil fuels and effective carbon rates (ECR)

Greece implicitly supports the consumption of fossil fuels through favourable tax treatments. Support rose significantly in 2010-11 as forgone revenue from tax concessions (excise tax exemption on diesel for aircraft and vessels, reductions and refunds for agriculture, reduced excise on oil for heating) increased with excise duties on oil products. After 2011, related revenue foregone (tax expenditure) fell with the reduction of taxes on diesel and fuel oil and the decline in oil consumption until 2013. Greece abolished tax relief for diesel used in agriculture in 2016. In 2020, the government established a subsidy program for zero-emission vehicles (electric cars) with the goal to reduce emissions from road transport that will significantly improve air quality in cities. In response to the recent energy crisis, Greece introduced several measures to cushion the impact of rising energy prices on consumers and enterprises.

Like many other EU countries, Greece puts a price on GHG emissions via energy taxes and participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). More than 90% of emissions (excluding combustion of biomass) are priced; 28.8% with a price above 120 EUR/tonne of CO₂.

Technology and innovation

The share of government R&D budget on environment has increased since 2012, albeit fluctuating, and is among the highest in the OECD, at about 4%. By contrast, Greece is a marginal player in environmentally-related inventions, with less than 50 patent applications in at least two jurisdictions annually by national inventors. Their share in total inventions is also below the OECD average.

Environment-related official development assistance (ODA)

Greece experienced a debt crisis and recession in the past decade that has resulted in significant cuts to official development assistance (ODA). Greece’s development co-operation is primarily comprised of multilateral expenditure, principally to European Union (EU) institutions, and in-donor refugee costs. Greece’s total ODA (USD 360 million) decreased in 2022 due to a decrease in its bilateral and multilateral ODA. It represented 0.17% of gross national income (GNI). In 2020-21, Greece committed low levels of bilateral allocable aid (0.084%) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions (DAC average of 34.3%), up from 0.004% in 2018-19.

References and further reading

CBD (2022), Country profiles: Greece, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=gr

OECD (2022), OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2022 Issue 1, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/62d0ca31-en.

OECD (2023), "Greece", in Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2dcf1367-en.

OECD (2020), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Greece 2020, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/cec20289-en.

IEA (2017), Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Greece 2017, Energy Policies of IEA Countries, IEA, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264285316-en.

UNEP-WCMC (2024), “Protected Area Profile for Greece”, the World Database of Protected Areas, www.protectedplanet.net