Mitigation Measures Towards Net Zero Carbon Emissions ^†

Abstract

Climate change is inducing new and increasing existing hazards that can cascade from one system or region to another affecting communities, ecosystems and various sectors of the economy. In 2022 Greece has incorporated the national climate law describing climate actions on mitigation and adaptation, introducing strategies and outlining key priorities and commitments of the country. Moreover, under article 20 of the national climate law, it is declared that it is mandatory for enterprises and public bodies to calculate their carbon footprint and publish a carbon footprint report in which mitigation actions and measures are also summarized. Reports collected within the first 2 years of the implementation of the law have been reviewed and data extracted are discussed in this work. A clear reduction of the total carbon footprint is evident in most sectors of Greek economy. Policy recommendations to enhance not only regulatory but also voluntary compliance and ensure progress towards the 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target are also outlined.

1. Introduction

Under Paris Agreement countries concurred to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius [1]. The European Climate Law [2], adapted in 2021 set the ambitious goal for climate neutrality by 2050 for EU countries aiming to ensure that all EU policies contribute to zero net carbon emission and all sectors of society and economy are involved. In this context, Greece enacted Law 4936/2022 (FEK A’ 105/27.05.2022) [3], titled “National Climate Law: Transition to Climate Neutrality and Adaptation to Climate Change”, introducing comprehensive climate governance reforms. The law designates the Ministry of Environment and Energy as the principal competent authority, supported by the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA). National climate law includes a pioneering system for mandatory carbon footprint reporting by enterprises operated by NECCA [4]. This legislative framework aligns with the European Climate Law (Regulation (EU) 2021/1119) and the European Green Deal. Its overarching goal is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 in accordance with EU climate targets, while setting intermediate goals for 55% emission reductions by 2030 and 80% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. Towards this direction article 20 plays a foundational role as it introduces the mandatory carbon footprint disclosure requirement for large enterprises. Specifically, under Article 20 of the national climate law, a mandatory system is foreseen for enterprises and public bodies operating in Greece with more than 50 employees to calculate and report their carbon footprint annually. The reporting must adhere to internationally recognized standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) or ISO 14064 [5]. The report includes direct emissions (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from energy consumption (Scope 2). Data and evidence necessary for assessing progress towards national goals is regularly provided by companies, as non-compliance is followed by administrative penalties. In addition, voluntary mitigation actions and measures to reduce their carbon footprint can be summarized in the report. Thus, article 20 serves as the data infrastructure that supports enforcement, monitoring, and future policy development within the climate law.

2. Methodology—Technical Framework

The carbon footprint reports are submitted electronically via the Climate Action and Sustainability Portal (CASP), a digital platform managed by NECCA under https://climaregistry.necca.gov.gr (accessed on 9 September 2025). The process involves the stages illustrated in Figure 1.

All enterprises subject to article 20 annually collect available data and calculate their carbon footprint following detailed methodological guidelines provided by the Ministry of Environment, according to international standards e.g., GHG Protocol or ISO 14064. To ensure accuracy of the reports, certified auditors undertake the role to verify CO₂ emissions. Therefore, it is important that companies are maintaining internal data governance protocols. Once carbon footprint data are verified, the annual reports should be submitted electronically to NECCA platform by the end of October each year, starting with data from the year 2022. NECCA as the competent authority is then publishing the list of companies that submitted their carbon footprint reports through the CASP database on time.

According to the selected data 293 in 2022 and 292 in 2023 companies submitted their report, indicating active compliance by companies in all sectors covered by Article 20. More specifically the sectors covered include sectors of Infrastructures, Extracts and Mineral Processing, Resources Transformation, Transportation, Food and Drinks, Technology/Communication, Consumables, Banking, General Services and Health Care. Distribution of companies per region is illustrated in Figure 2a. The majority of companies that issued carbon footprint reports is located in Athens peninsula. In addition, enterprises distribution per sector for 2022 and 2023 (Figure 2b), indicates that most companies subjected to the mandatory reporting systems come from transportation, banking and consumables sectors. Analysis of the data on energy consumption and total CO₂ emissions as well as relevant trends are presented in the following section.

3. Results and Discussion

Greece’s CASP established and operated by NECCA ensures a centralized and accessible reporting system, that enhances transparency and provides valuable data for policy evaluation. An analysis and deeper insights on data collected within the first 2 years of climate law implementation is discussed in this section. Results are summarized in

Table 1. Total CO₂ eq emissions and energy consumption per sector for 2022.

2022	Total (tn CO2 eq)	Energy Consumption (kWh)
Infrastructures	18,041,230	1,305,104,456
Extracts and Mineral Processing	5,097,010	3,420,766,099
Resources Transformation	2,781,526	578,081,665
Transportation	483.222	410,520,794
Food and Drinks	675,860	1,108,377,373
Technology/Communication	370,345	631,940,444
Consumables	227,729	344,640,740
Banking	110,440	214,019,826
Services	20,477	28,450,624
Health	17,933	26,680,919
Total	27,825,772	8,068,582,941

and

Table 2. Total CO₂ eq emissions and energy consumption per sector for 2023.

2023	Total (tn CO2eq)	Energy Consumption (kWh)
Infrastructures	12,237,642	1,342,597,197
Extracts and Mineral Processing	4,686,623	3,496,794,150
Resources Transformation	2,793,509	601,160,430
Transportation	505,811	441,066,215
Food and Drinks	449,949	941,255,177
Technology/Communication	257,152	604,490,480
Consumables	151,163	325,505,529
Banking	56,786	192,006,776
Services	13,860	23,811,041
Health	12,363	25,137,663
Total	21,164,859	7,993,824,658

where total CO₂ equivalent emissions (in tn) and energy consumption (kWh) per sector for years 2022 and 2023 respectively is presented.

Infrastructures count for the 65% of total CO₂ emissions (18.041.230 of total 27.825.772tn) in 2022, that is mainly direct emission (Scope 1). Indirect emissions of CO₂ due to total energy consumption (Scope 2) are mainly affected by the extracts and mineral processing sector as it stands for the 42% of the energy consumption for 2022. Inspection of Table 2 indicates a clear decrease in both total CO₂ emission and energy consumption for 2023. This is mainly due to the 32% decrease of total CO₂ emission from infrastructures (Figure 3) that remain the key player also for 2023. Figure 3 presents the percentage of CO₂ emissions variation in 2023 compared to 2022, where red columns stand for positive and blue for negative trends. It is evident that most sectors reduced CO₂ emissions, within a year, more than 30%, with banking sector reaching up to almost 50%. This, indicates a positive response of businesses towards actions and measures to deteriorate their total carbon footprint. However, this is not the case for the transportation sector that slightly increased (5%) its total CO₂ emission, as well as its energy consumption presented in Figure 4. Figure 4 illustrates variations in energy consumption in 2023 compared to 2022, with red and blue columns standing for positive and negative trends. Most sectors such as Food and Drinks Technology/Communication, Consumable, Banking, Services and Health Care managed to reduce their energy consumption leading to minimized indirect CO₂ emissions. This is not the case for infrastructures, resources transformation and extract and minerals processing, showing a slight increase up to 4%. However, total CO₂ emissions for 2023 do not follow the same increasing pattern for infrastructures and extract and minerals processing. This indicates that main contribution on CO₂ emission from these sectors come from companies’ direct emissions. Direct emissions come from combustion of fuels in stationary sources e.g., boilers, transport from combustion of fuels in vehicles, methane emissions, production of electricity from burning coal.

Identification and mapping of CO₂ emission sources help companies to adjust their environmental policies to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, inducing measures to reduce energy consumption in infrastructures may not be as beneficiary as reduction of specific fuel combustion for industrial use. Actions proposed by companies such as enhancing efficiency and sustainability of their daily operations or increase renewables penetration for energy production are towards this direction.

It should be noted that emissions reported in compliance to article 20 stand for 36% and 29% for 2022 and 2023 respectively of the Greek GHG emissions inventory [6]. This highlights the role a successful implementation of the reporting procedure plays for Greece to achieve national targets towards carbon neutrality by 2050. Supplementary policy recommendation and measures foreseen by the national climate law, as the definition of carbon budgets per sector are expected to strengthen efforts to achieve interim targets. At the same time significant process in the use of renewables mainly solar and wind as well as alternative fuels leads to low-carbon energy production for companies. Moreover, businesses that manage to minimize waste while maximize resources efficiency are able to accelerate transition to carbon neutrality. The success on goals defined within the national climate law does not only depend on a strong enforcement of compliance mechanisms but also on voluntary and integrated action by private sector. Increasing public awareness and promoting behavior change through climate education and easy access to information is vital for the enforcement of environmental policies, such as the national climate law.

4. Conclusions

Greece’s CASP established and operated by NECCA ensures a centralized and accessible reporting system, enhances transparency and provides valuable data for policy evaluation. Although data analysis indicates a clear reduction of the carbon footprint in most sectors, transportation emissions and energy consumption of the sector have increased in 2023 compared to 2022.

The mandatory reporting with the use of international standards (GHG Protocol, ISO 14064) on carbon accounting, is a positive step not only towards carbon emissions reduction but also promoting stakeholder training and engagement. This mandatory reporting system may increase administrative burden and compliance cost; however it is expected that companies will gain in terms of establishing effective environmental policies and advantages in green finance.