IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i23p16307-d1287701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Just Transition Policies, Power Plant Workers and Green Entrepreneurs in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria: Can Education and Retraining Meet the Challenge?

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolaos Apostolopoulos

    (Department of Management Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripoli, Greece)

  • Alexandros Kakouris

    (Department of Management Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripoli, Greece)

  • Panagiotis Liargovas

    (Department of Management Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, 22100 Tripoli, Greece)

  • Petar Borisov

    (Department of Management and Marketing, Agricultural University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

  • Teodor Radev

    (Department of Management and Marketing, Agricultural University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

  • Sotiris Apostolopoulos

    (Department of Economics and Business, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos 8042, Cyprus)

  • Sofia Daskou

    (Department of Economics and Business, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos 8042, Cyprus)

  • Eleni Ε. Anastasopoulou

    (School of Agriculture and Food, University of Peloponnese, 22100 Tripoli, Greece)

Abstract

This study seeks to shed light on the changes currently occurring in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria on the energy transition process by examining the relevant consequences for power plant workers in the green energy market. The main aim of this paper is to explore the impacts of the implemented policies on the labour force of electricity generation stations and to identify learning needs for new skills and competences. Thus, it explores the possibility to achieve a just transition by employing workers from the high-carbon energy sector to the renewable energy sector. Qualitative research was carried out to explore the views and expectancies of the above-mentioned people as well as to trace the perceptions of the stakeholders of the green energy industry. A total of 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted in the previously mentioned three countries, which also investigated relevant training and upskilling programmes. The findings revealed various types of educational needs and techniques that can be applied by training providers in accordance to the power plant worker’s views as well as the disciplines and specialities of the workforce that are suitable to receive the further fit for attending such programmes. Workers in Greece and Cyprus appeared more optimistic for this possibility compared to Bulgarian workers. Green entrepreneurs were also optimistic but worried for the rate of investments in the green sector. The current findings describe the backdrop that challenges future retraining programmes with regard to achieving just transition policies for this workforce.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolaos Apostolopoulos & Alexandros Kakouris & Panagiotis Liargovas & Petar Borisov & Teodor Radev & Sotiris Apostolopoulos & Sofia Daskou & Eleni Ε. Anastasopoulou, 2023. "Just Transition Policies, Power Plant Workers and Green Entrepreneurs in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria: Can Education and Retraining Meet the Challenge?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16307-:d:1287701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16307/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16307/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Pollin, 2023. "Fossil Fuel Industry Phase-Out and Just Transition: Designing Policies to Protect Workers’ Living Standards," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 539-568, October.
    2. Lyu, Wenjing & Liu, Jin, 2021. "Soft skills, hard skills: What matters most? Evidence from job postings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    3. Creutzig, Felix & Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph & Lehmann, Paul & Schmid, Eva & von Blücher, Felix & Breyer, Christian & Fernandez, Blanca & Jakob, Michael & Knopf, Brigitte & Lohrey, Steffen & Susca, Ti, 2014. "Catching two European birds with one renewable stone: Mitigating climate change and Eurozone crisis by an energy transition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1015-1028.
    4. Vasiliki Tzelepi & Myrto Zeneli & Dimitrios-Sotirios Kourkoumpas & Emmanouil Karampinis & Antonios Gypakis & Nikos Nikolopoulos & Panagiotis Grammelis, 2020. "Biomass Availability in Europe as an Alternative Fuel for Full Conversion of Lignite Power Plants: A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-26, July.
    5. Potrč, Sanja & Čuček, Lidija & Martin, Mariano & Kravanja, Zdravko, 2021. "Sustainable renewable energy supply networks optimization – The gradual transition to a renewable energy system within the European Union by 2050," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    6. Moreno, Blanca & López, Ana Jesús, 2008. "The effect of renewable energy on employment. The case of Asturias (Spain)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 732-751, April.
    7. Louie, Edward P. & Pearce, Joshua M., 2016. "Retraining investment for U.S. transition from coal to solar photovoltaic employment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 295-302.
    8. Kacan, Erkan, 2015. "Renewable energy awareness in vocational and technical education," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 126-134.
    9. Quirin Schiermeier & Katrin Kohnert, 2011. "Germany: Renewables revolution," Nature, Nature, vol. 480(7376), pages 279-280, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Arvanitopoulos, T. & Agnolucci, P., 2020. "The long-term effect of renewable electricity on employment in the United Kingdom," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Ewelina Olba-Zięty & Jakub Jan Zięty & Mariusz Jerzy Stolarski, 2023. "External Environmental Costs of Solid Biomass Production against the Legal and Political Background in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-27, May.
    3. Zafrilla, Jorge-Enrique & Arce, Guadalupe & Cadarso, María-Ángeles & Córcoles, Carmen & Gómez, Nuria & López, Luis-Antonio & Monsalve, Fabio & Tobarra, María-Ángeles, 2019. "Triple bottom line analysis of the Spanish solar photovoltaic sector: A footprint assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Omri, Emna & Chtourou, Nouri & Bazin, Damien, 2015. "Solar thermal energy for sustainable development in Tunisia: The case of the PROSOL project," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1312-1323.
    5. Chiu, Chien-Liang & Chang, Ting-Huan, 2009. "What proportion of renewable energy supplies is needed to initially mitigate CO2 emissions in OECD member countries?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1669-1674, August.
    6. Ismael Pérez-Franco & Agustín García-García & Juan J. Maldonado-Briegas, 2020. "Energy Transition Towards a Greener and More Competitive Economy: The Iberian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Luigi Aldieri & Jonas Grafström & Kristoffer Sundström & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2019. "Wind Power and Job Creation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Muhammad Amir Raza & Muhammad Mohsin Aman & Altaf Hussain Rajpar & Mohamed Bashir Ali Bashir & Touqeer Ahmed Jumani, 2022. "Towards Achieving 100% Renewable Energy Supply for Sustainable Climate Change in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Knopf, Brigitte & Nahmmacher, Paul & Schmid, Eva, 2015. "The European renewable energy target for 2030 – An impact assessment of the electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 50-60.
    11. Shangfeng Han & Baosheng Zhang & Xiaoyang Sun & Song Han & Mikael Höök, 2017. "China’s Energy Transition in the Power and Transport Sectors from a Substitution Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, April.
    12. Lorenzo Dambrosio & Stefano Pio Manzari, 2024. "Multi-Objective Sensitivity Analysis of a Wind Turbine Equipped with a Pumped Hydro Storage System Using a Reversible Hydraulic Machine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Martiskainen, Mari & Hook, Andrew & Baker, Lucy, 2020. "Beyond cost and carbon: The multidimensional co-benefits of low carbon transitions in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    14. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Paglialunga, Elena, 2018. "The employment impact of private and public actions for energy efficiency: Evidence from European industries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 250-267.
    15. Yuanyuan He & Luxin Wan & Manli Zhang & Huijuan Zhao, 2022. "Regional Renewable Energy Installation Optimization Strategies with Renewable Portfolio Standards in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-18, August.
    16. Sanya Carley & Sara Lawrence, 2014. "Energy-Based Economic Development," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-1-4471-6341-1, December.
    17. Raza, Muhammad Amir & Khatri, Krishan Lal & Hussain, Arslan, 2022. "Transition from fossilized to defossilized energy system in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 19-29.
    18. Manal Elhaj & Jihen Bousrih & Hind Alofaysan, 2024. "Can Technological Advancement Empower the Future of Renewable Energy? A Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-18, October.
    19. Łukasz Augustowski & Piotr Kułyk, 2024. "Conditions for the Development of Wind Energy for Individual Consumers: A Case Study in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-13, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16307-:d:1287701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.