A Greek Green Deal: building energy democracy and fighting energy poverty

While implementing the New Green Deal, the European Union is faced with major energy challenges and dilemmas. Energy poverty is an issue of critical importance affecting many Europeans. Since Greece has experienced a prolonged period of crises, the strengthening of energy democracy and the fight against energy poverty must be among the top national priorities. Collective energy actions can pave the way towards the uptake of renewable energy, enabling and incentivizing consumers to become prosumers. This study first outlines the main theoretical perspectives on the politics of energy and proposes a new approach to understand renewable energy. Then it describes the EU energy policy and the transition to a climate-neutral economy. It briefly explains the concept of energy communities before focusing on the case of Greece. The study examines the rise of the country’s energy communities, including the Agrinio and Minoan communities. It also explains the measures taken in Greece during the last decade to tackle energy poverty by offering incentives for energy savings. Moreover, the study describes the national energy and climate plan by examining the case of Tilos. Finally, the study summarises the main findings and offer some policy recommendations.