Greece will spend 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) to offset the impact of ditching coal in power generation by 2028 and cutting carbon emissions in line with European Union climate targets by 2050, a government official said on last Wednesday.
Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis told reporters the total will include state money, funds from the European Union and loans from the European Investment Bank.
The funds will be spent on infrastructure projects, subsidies to new businesses, and training, to help western Macedonia and Megalopoli in Southern Peloponnese switch to green energy, agriculture and tourism.
Those regions are the main suppliers of the cheap and abundant lignite resources Greece has relied on for power generation for more than half a century.
Hatzidakis also said that some 16 private investments in renewables and other activities are in the pipeline and are expected to help create more than 8,000 jobs in western Macedonia and Megalopoli.