Greece appears to be well on its way to meeting its pollution-reduction goals after celebrating a major milestone in 2023.
As reported by Reuters, power grid operator IPTO announced that the Mediterranean country produced a record-breaking amount of its energy from clean sources, including wind, solar, and hydroelectric.
In fact, Greece generated an incredible 57% from a combination of renewables and hydroelectric plants, which use water to operate, more than doubling its energy from renewables since 2014.
According to the International Energy Agency, the country is planning to reduce the amount of heat-trapping pollution it produces by 55% by 2030, making this news a significant step forward.
The transition to clean energy is also in line with recommendations by the U.N. Environment Programme, which has called for nations to phase out dirty energy, such as coal, oil, and gas, in order to limit the dangerous rise in global temperatures.Â
Globally, only 29% of electricity comes from renewables, per the U.N., while the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows the United States is below even that mark at roughly 21%.
In addition to reducing harmful pollution, though — which would make the transition to clean energy enticing enough — renewables have the potential to create well-paying jobs and stimulate local and national economies.
According to Reuters, Greece now has its eyes on becoming an exporter of green energy and has been strengthening connections with other countries as part of the process. The IPTO also has a 10-year project in place to further expand the capacity of the clean-energy grid.
"We believe that [renewables] will contribute drastically to the green transition, to better electricity prices, and to our country's energy security," Thodoros Skylakakis, the minister of Environment and Energy, said in a statement published by the Greek City Times.
"The initiatives we are taking for this purpose are bearing fruit, and this is reflected in the recent, extremely encouraging data," he added.
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