VZCZCXRO7620
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHTH #1538/01 3151512
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101512Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2762
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001538 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA FOR BEH/NELSON, EUR/PGI FOR TESSLER, 
OES/PCI FOR FITE/HUDAK, OES/EGC FOR FENDLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG KGHG SENV TRGY GR
SUBJECT: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: GREECE'S VIEW ON EU 
CLIMATE AND ENERGY PACKAGE 
 
REF: ATHENS 1481 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  In a November 7 meeting with advisors at 
the Secretary General of Energy and Natural Sources to the 
Ministry of Development, Greek interlocutors said they were 
fully on board with the need for the EU Climate and Energy 
Package, but did not think it would get approved by all EU 
member states before year-end.  If the Package is approved, 
they said that Greece will have to revise its already 
ambitious national targets.  The Ministry of Development 
advisors were unable to give concrete details about how they 
were going to get industry compliance and how they planned to 
build capacity to increase the use of renewables. 
Nevertheless, the advisors were optimistic that the 
renewables draft law (reftel) would be in place before 
year-end and would spur on growth in the sector.  In 
addition, Greece has approved legislation aimed at 
encouraging new building construction to be energy efficient. 
 End Summary. 
 
On board with EU Climate and Energy Package 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In meetings to discuss Greece's position on the EU 
Climate and Energy Package, advisors to the Ministry of 
Development Antony Marinos and Viky Georgakopoulou told 
EconOff that Greece was fully on board to set EU member 
targets to reduce electricity consumption and improve energy 
efficiency.  According to present EU directives for renewable 
energy sources (RES), Greece has outlined a national 
allocation plan (NAP) to meet its medium-term targets. 
Marinos said Greece was committed to a "rational use" of 
energy through advanced technology and raised awareness. 
"Without removing from the equation the rate of development 
and without halting the rate of growth, businesses will have 
to take into account energy efficient constraints," he said. 
When EconOff asked the role that the Greek Government will 
play in regulating industry, Marinos responded that they are 
guessing that they (industry) will do it by themselves. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) He went on to elaborate on the Emissions Trading 
System (ETS), stating that industry will have to improve the 
way it is operating to reduce emissions and will probably 
have to include the use of renewables.  The ETS forces 
specific sectors of each country to emit within a certain 
level of carbon dioxide; however, Marinos believes this 
system is "not effective," and a number of countries have 
already exceeded their emissions targets.  He said that the 
commitments signed on to with the adoption of the Kyoto 
Protocol have been incorporated into the framework for EU 
directives, but now the Greek Government was looking at how 
to meet long-term targets in a post-Kyoto framework. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Marinos and Georgakopoulou agreed that it was not 
likely that the EU Climate and Energy Package would be 
ratified by year-end, particularly as Italy was fighting its 
ratification on behalf of its industrial sector.  Marinos 
said that the sectors directly affected by the pollution 
targets were those that utilized primary fuels and raw 
materials.  He stressed, "We can not fight China and keep up 
the rate of economic growth."  Instead, Greece was focusing 
on trying to increase the use of renewables in its sectors. 
 
Renewables as the Fix-All 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Georgakopoulou said that the draft law on 
renewables was close to being passed, and that it had been 
signed by two out of the three ministries (Ministry of 
Development and Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning 
and Public Works (MOE)).  The law is currently with the 
Ministry of National Economy, and it will then be submitted 
to Parliament for debate.  Georgakopoulou said the draft law 
would go before the Parliament in December and would likely 
get ratified before year-end.  She reported that the only 
substantive change to the draft law, since she last met with 
EconOff, was the reduction in the feed-in subsidy, or a fixed 
buy-back rate of electricity, which would decrease every 
semester (six months).  Marinos commented that the rate 
originally offered must have been too high, which may have 
accounted for the over-subscription of projects.  He added 
that the Greek Government will honor those contracts that 
have been signed at that rate, regardless of whether it is 
above market value. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In a nod to EU directives on renewables, Marinos 
and Georgakopoulou said the aggressive targets would be 
 
ATHENS 00001538  002 OF 002 
 
 
beneficial and encourage Greece to meet specific targets and 
would not punish Greece if it did not meet the targets.  Both 
were hoping that the new and improved draft law on renewables 
would assist the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) to 
review its project backlog by the end of 2009.  They noted 
that the projects continued to be "alive" and that there was 
ample number of investors, but the investors did not have the 
funding.  When EconOff asked if there was a match-making 
system to match investors with capital, they said they did 
not have the human resource capacity for this venture.  In 
order to meet anticipated investor demand on renewbles, 
Georgakopoulou said they were hoping totake people from the 
Center for Renewable Enegy Sources (CRES) to ramp up review 
of project still in the backlog. 
 
Energy-Efficient Buildings 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Marinos highlighted legislation that passed in June 
that encourages energy conservation in new buildings.  He 
said changes to the construction of new buildings that 
promoted energy conservation has not happened since 1978, 
when the Greek Government required heat-protective 
installation.  The new regulations under the directive would 
be posted on the website of the Ministry of Development and 
would be in effect by the end of the month.  The legislation 
puts in place incentives for implementing energy saving 
measures in existing buildings (heating, cooling, DHW and 
lighting).  (Note: According to the Website of the MOE, the 
new building regulation is being harmonized with the law for 
the protection of the environment and the law for the 
promotion of renewable energy sources.  End Note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Greece is talking the talk on the Climate and 
Energy Package, but has yet to demonstrate strong policy and 
concrete measures to meet the larger objectives of the EU to 
reduce carbon emissions and increase the use of RES.  Without 
a clear action plan and tough penalties on polluting 
enterprises, Greece naively believes that industries will 
self-regulate with regard t environmental compliance. 
Although Greek officials welcome hard-to-reach targets, they 
are banking on renewables to transform their record on the 
environment.  Finally, Greece is hoping that its new law will 
simplify bureaucratic procedures for qualifying for RES 
projects, but without additional human resources to meet the 
investor backlog of renewable projects, it is unlikely that 
their promised brand-new law on renewables will save the day. 
 The Embassy has already experienced first-hand the impact of 
this proposed legislation on its own photo-voltaic project. 
As the Embassy no longer qualifies for the feed-in or the 
capital subsidy, according to the new legislation, the 
Embassy will have to revise its proposal to meet the ten-year 
payback period.  End Comment. 
SPECKHARD