For decades, the Greek city of Kozani has played a central role in the country’s electricity supply through its local lignite power plant, which is the largest in the country and produces 40 per cent of electric energy in Greece.
According to Mayor Lazaros Maloutas, with the introduction of the European Green Deal and the desire to build a better urban future, Kozani “faces the biggest challenge in its history.”
As reported by the European Commission, the city aims to decarbonise and create “a new development and production model for the territory in collaboration with social entities, the regional government and the central government.”
Kozani decided to join the Green City Accord to support the city’s shift toward sustainability as well as its goal for citizens to “breathe cleaner air, enjoy clean water, have access to parks and green spaces and live in areas with less environmental noise,” according to the Mayor.
Kozani is already making progress in the five target areas set out by the Accord: air, water, nature and biodiversity, waste and circular economy and noise. The city has drafted and is beginning to implement, a collection of integrated action plans to address Circular Economy, Sustainable Energy and Climate Adaptation as well as technical plans for the municipal enterprise for Water and Wastewater and Sustainable Urban Development.
Mayor Maloutas has shared some of Kozani’s progress thus far, which includes replacing the municipal fleet with electric and hybrid vehicles and implementing an intelligent transport system. The installation of two more electric charging stations is envisioned in the near future. At the same time, the city has installed water metres in tanks and wells to better assess and measure the use of water, while modernising connections between pipelines.
A separate collection of fabric waste and used cooking oils has been introduced, shares the Mayor. The Greek city also carries out the separation of 7,500 tonnes of bio-waste per year.