Austerity and Environment: A Greek Tragedy An analysis of the interplay between the austerity crisis and worsening environmental conditions in Greece. Skander Manaa Department of Politics, Philosophy & Religion Lancaster University May 2020 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Julie Hearn for her wisdom, direction and support, as well as the entirety of the Lancaster PPR staff for answering random questions related to my dissertation, giving me their valuab le opinions or just being some of the most supportive staff I’ve had the chance to work with. I would also like to give my biggest, warmest thanks to my friends for being there for me. Claudia, Jamie, Timmy, Pablo and Ellie in particular for their continued support in the creation of this paper. Special regards go to the best group on campus: Philosophy Society. I owe particular thanks to Kostas for the effort and time spent translating Greek documents, as well as Rod Modell and ChilledCow for makin g the best music to write to. Furthermore, I want to thank the activists and journalists that continually work to push climate change to the forefront of our discussions, but especially I want to thank the scientists. From data analysts and reviewers to every other kind of scientist that work , almost always out of the public spotlight, on the biggest threat humanity has ever faced. None seem to be treated the way they should be, as heroes. Thank you for your work. Finally, I’d like to thank M aman & Papa. My siblings and my grandparents. Everyone in my family and circles of friends who have helped me reach the end of this degree. I love you all. Merci 3 Abstract Throughout the past decade, environmental affairs have steadily risen in the r anks of public concerns, to find a spot amongst the crucial issues of our age. This research project aims to understand and present the interplay between these two matters, more specifically in a country that has recently been plagued by both environmental and economic troubles: Greece. Analysing government and NGO statistics, as well as secondary literature on the subject, has shown a potential link between the two matters, more specifically in areas such as deforestation, floods and air pollution. Early f indings seem to point at a reciprocal relationship between austerity and worsening environmental conditions. As institutions, government programs and social cohesion become the targets of declining budgets, Greek ecosystems suffer from deteriorating care a nd increased exploitation, which in turn seem to harm the Greek economy by way of a vicious cycle. This project’s goal is to illuminate the effects of austerity economic policies on people and the environment, so as to better understand the potential tools and pitfalls awaiting us in our perilous fight against climate change worldwide. Word Count: 9,38 9 4 Table of Contents Introduction............................................................... ...................... 5 1.0 The Greek Financial and Austerity Crisis.............................. ............... 7 1.1 Before the Crash................................................... .............. 7 1. 2 The Troika & Bailout #1............................................. ........... 8 1. 3 Bailout #2............................................................ ............. 11 1. 4 Auster ity Around the World............... ..................................... 12 2.0 The Environmental Crisis................................................ ................ 13 2.1 Conte xtualising the Crisis.................................... ................... 13 2.2 Recent Effects of Climate Change.............................. ............... 15 2.3 Greek Environment and Climate................................. ............. 16 3.0 Intersectionality of Crises............................................. ................... 17 3.1 Note on Scope and Method....................................... ............. 17 3.2 Fauna and Flora................................................... ............... 18 3.2.1 Deforestation................................................ .......... 19 3.2.2 Wildlife...................................................... ........... 22 3.3 Pollution............................................................... ............ 24 3.3.1 Air.................................................................. .... 24 3.3. 2 Water.................................................................. 26 3.3.3 Waste............................................................... .... 27 3.4 Disasters..................................................................... ...... 28 3.5 The Human/Nature Rift................................................... ...... 30 Conclusion..................................................................... ............ ..... 33 Annex 1....... ................................................................................. .... 34 Bibliography.................................................................................... 35 5 Introduction On April 4 th , 2012, Dimitris Christoulas, a 77 - year - old pharmacist woke up and walked down to Syntagma Square, one of Athens’ central plaz a s. Christoulas was a lifelong leftist, a community militant and most important of all, he was described by all that knew him as a good man. On that April morning, Christoulas shot himself on Syntagma Square. In a single day, Christoulas went from a solitary member of the community appearing at political rallies and taking care of his Athens pharmacy, to being the symbol of the anti - austerity movement in Greece. Christoulas’ martyrdom fuelled years of bitter prote sts and conflict between the Greek people and their government. Christoulas’ death was a turning point for me as I learned of the visceral consequences economic policies can have on people’s livelihoods 1 While Greece fought its battle with the Troika , another crisis crept towards, not just Greece, but the whole world : climate change. There now exists an overwhelming body of evidence proving that we are living through and directly affecting the most dangerous threat humanity has faced. A truly existentia l issue. Countries around the world are still figuring out how they want to face the crisis, but time is running out: emissions must be lowered by substantial amounts or humanity will face the consequences of runaway climate change. And while many are eage r to solve the crisis, the tools we use to fight this battle will determine whether we succeed in saving our planet from ourselves, or let it crumble under the weight of our presence. One such tool, floated around as a potential necessity, is austerity. Even after the Greek crisis, austerity remained as mainstream economic policy. In Greece, Christoulas’ death, as well as what ensued in the years to follow, had shown the world how devastating austerity could be on a human level. However, its effects on the environment were still under - studied In th is paper, I discuss the effects of austerity measures , taken between the years 2010 - 2012 with the First and Second Economic Adjustment Programmes, on Greece’s environment In the first chapter I con textualise the Greek financial and Austerity crisis through Greece’s recent economic history as well as by briefly situating Greece’s crisis within the broader history of austerity. The second chapter of this paper contextualises the 1 Smith, H., “Greece Suicide: Tributes for Retired Pharm a cist”, (The Guardian, April 2012), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/05/greece - suicide - tributes - retired - pharmacist 6 Environmental Crisis b y outlining its causes and effects, as well as briefly situating Greece within it. Finally, chapter three analyses the inter play between austerity measures and their impact on specific parts of the Greek environment. My analysis delves into the effects of austerity measures taken around four fields, namely biodiversity, which I limit to land use, forests and wildlife, pollution from the air, water and waste and then disasters which focus heavily on fires. The final section of chapter three delves into the m ore philosophical changes that have occurred in the Human/Nature relationship at the policy level. Due to concerns of brevity and accuracy, this paper will only engage with the austerity policies undertaken during the period of the first and second Greek p rogrammes 2 Additionally, particular emphasis will be placed on the years 2012 - 2013, in an effort to find signs of short - term, more direct effects of austerity policies. 2 The years analysed by this paper will often be referred to as “the austerity years”, “the years of austerity”, “the austerity period” or related alternatives. 7 1. The Greek Financial and Austerity Crisis 1.1. Before the Crash The Greek economy has, throughout the past decades, found itself on a rollercoaster ride through unpredictable hills and ravines. Considering the end of the military dictatorship as our starting point, Greece was accepted into the European Community (EC) – now called the European Union – in 1981 with remarkably lenient entry requirements 3 Before joining the EC, the Greek state struggled to shake off the remnants of its “hegemonic position 4 ” ; nearly a fifth of the population was directly employed by the public sector, enormous debts were acquired from spending sprees and the government maintained a controlling hand on the economy. Widespread corruption , mismanagement and a “clientelistic use 5 ” of the financial sector for political gains made it difficult for Greece to join the later formed European Monetary Union ; the 1980s were a period of economic stagnation for Greece, the ongoing depression decimated employment and impaired labour productivity 6 , resulting in a devalued Drachma, diminished competitiv eness and gargantuan debts that would serve as a foundation for the Greece we know today. In the early 1990s , the Greek government decided to sign the Maastricht Treaty, aiming to later on join the European single currency 7 To meet the required criteria, Greece submitted a convergence program to plot out its journey from the chaotic mess it was perceived to be in , to wards a more “Europeanised” economy. Throughout the 90s, Greece reformed its economy and political structures in various ways, effectively democratising and liberalising itself at the behest of the EU, to ensure it would be accepted by its neighbours as one of the ir own 8 During this process however, as well as its entry into the euro in 2001, Greece was not in fact being truthfu l about its economic statistics. Reports demonstrate how Greece had been manipulating its own data from as early as before the Maastricht Treaty, to appear 3 Ioakimidis, P.C., “The Europeanization of Greece: An Overall Assessment”, (South European Society and Politics, December 2000) page 76. 4 Ibid, page 76. 5 I bid, page 77 6 Romei, V., “Greece and t he EU: a brief (economic) history in charts”, (Financial Times, August 2015), https://www.ft.com/content/9436dfa7 - cd 88 - 3daa - a844 - 56da4b27ec54#comments - anchor 7 Ibid. 8 Ioakimidis, P.C., “The Europeanization of Greece: An Overall Assessment”, (South European Society and Politics, December 2000) page 79 8 stronger and healthier than it was 9 Deceptive tricks were used such as having the government buy s hares from the failing state - owned railway company, in order to count it “not as expenditure, but as a financial transaction 10 ”, which would then not materialise on the balance sheets. As the new millennium came around, the Greek governments’ charade came to light and very slowly, experts and institutions began to realise the extent of the problem 11 : For much of the 1990s - 2000s, Greece’s statistical data was utterly unreliable , thus prevent ing a clear analys i s of the state of its economy 12 A final straw, however, progressively made its way onto the camel’s back during the 2000s: predatory lending. Banks from financially stronger European states like Germany and France quickly realised that if countries like Greece were in grave need to borrow, and that its currency as well as its debt was backed up by the European Central Bank (ECB), then they had found themselves a debtor, famished for loans and a safety net within the ECB that would see their loans repaid no matter the outcome 13 “Greece in the 2000 - 2007 period offers a dramatic example of unsustainable, boom - based growth acceleration, pursued under weakening systemic growth forces 14 ”. It is upon these foundations of weak competitiveness, low labour productivity, unmanageable borrowing and untrustworthy statistics that Greece entered the 2008 global financial crisis 15 1. 2 The Troika and Bailout #1 . In 2009, PASOK, the centre - left Gree k party wins national elections to take their rivals, New Democracy, a centre - right party, out of government 16 . Months later, PASOK reveal that past governments had been manipulating official statistics for 9 Little, A., “How ‘magic’ made Greek debt disappear before it joined the euro”, (BBC News, February 2012), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world - europe - 16834815 10 Ibid. 11 Barber, T., “Greece condemned for falsifying data”, (Financial Times, Brussels, January 2010) , https://www.ft.com/content/33b0a48c - ff7e - 11de - 8f53 - 00144feabdc0 12 Sarafidis, V., “The tragedy of Greek statistics”, (Ekathimerini, Athens, October 2018), http://www.ekathimerini.com/233883/article/ekathimerini/comment/the - tragedy - of - greek - statistics 13 Little, A., “How ‘magic’ made Greek debt disappear before it joined the euro”, (BBC News, February 2012), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world - europe - 16834815 14 Economic Gro wth in the EU, Lisbon council, 16/10/2013 Page 20 15 Oldani, C., “The Management of Greek Sovereign Risk”, (The IUP Journal of Financial Risk Management, January 2012), page 2. 16 Fouskas, V. & Dimoulas, C., “Greece, Fina ncialization and the EU: The Politica l Economy of Debt and Destruction”, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), page xix. 9 years, and attempt to give financial authorities reassessed, truthful data concerning Greece’s debt, growth and balance sheets. This led to a revised budget deficit 17 , exposing the 2009 budget deficit as being much more important than the already alarming 6.7% of GDP. The real figure sat at a hefty 15.4% of GDP, the sight of which sent shocks throughout the financial markets of the world. Within months of the revelations, an emergency response group made up of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission ( EC) had formed, nicknamed by many as the “Troika”. Greece needed financial support and fast, as it continued to haemorrhage money. After months of negotiations , in May 2010, the Troika released a statement outlining an agreement between Greece and the auth orities for a bailout totalling 110 billion euros. The E AP outlines levels of public debt reaching more than 115% of GDP in 2009 18 , as well as low productivity levels and a government deficit in the double digits. Its objectives are set out to be an immediate containment/control of the finances, reassurance of the markets, as well as fixing the severe liquidity needs of the Greek banking system. Throughout the document are mentions of Greece’s need for more “flexib le” and more “efficient” labour markets, coupled with a plan to restructure the economy towards an export - led growth model by restoring competitiveness 19 The rhetoric present in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the E AP paints a story of necessary sacrifices, urgency and paternalist counsel for an ailment established to be caused by Greek senselessness. Arguably more crucial than the tone of the documents however, are the economic objectives set out throughout. The EAP considers that with its advice, bailout money and supervision, the Greek economy should have no problem putting into practice the 5 - year plan it constructed. According to the Troika, Greece will need to improve their primary balance “from a deficit of 8.5% of GDP in 2009 to a surplus of just below 6% 17 Ozturk, S. & Sozdemir, A., “Effects of Global Financial Crisis on Greece Economy”, (Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015), Volume 23, page 574. 18 Directorate General for Economic a nd Financial Affairs , “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece” , (European Commission, Occasional Papers, May 2010 ), . N°61 , page 6 19 Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs , “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece” , (European Comm ission, Occasional Papers, May 2010 ), . N°61 , page 10 10 GDP 20 21 ” , and its net external debt was expected to decline after peaking in 2013 at 120% GDP. These goals, to restore Greek competitiveness, productivity and stability were to become Greece’s own. But nothing is free, certainly not a rescue package this big. In return, the Troika demanded a number of changes be made to the Greek economy, with complete oversight by authorities. If they were going to invest this much money into Greece, Troika leaders wanted to be sure the bailout would not be squandered 22 . In a statement from Dominique Strauss - Kahn, the then - Managing Director of the IMF 23 , Greece is portrayed as an ailing patient that must make difficult sacrifices for the health of its economy, but assured that w hatever measures are taken, they will be fair to the most vulnerable and that prosperity will be right around the corner if it follows the demands set out in the Economic Adjustment Program (SAP). Austerity measures, meant to reduce government spending an d redress the Greek budget deficit by about 20% of GDP within 5 years, an act other European countries could only ever dream of, were the price to pay for 110 Billion Euros. Measures 24 included things like cuts to public - sector bonuses, to pensions, public wages and increasing the retirement age. The pension reforms were seen by Troika officials to be the most important of all, alongside broadening the scope of the formal economy and overcoming Greece’s “competitiveness issue 25 ” Despite widespread opposit ion to the measures, the Greek government held steadfast and continued passing a stream of austerity budgets , believing the bailout money and economic oversight from the Troika would help Greece weather the storm. 20 Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs , “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece” , (European Commission, Occasional Papers, May 2010 ), . N°61 , page 12 21 As discussed in previous pag es, the real statistics put Greece’s deficit at 15.4% in 2009 rather than 8.5%, arguably making these recommendations even more unreasonable. 22 Ozturk, S. & Sozdemir, A., “Effects of Global Financial Crisis on Greece Economy”, (Procedia Economics and Finance, 2015), Volume 23, page 574. 23 Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, “Euro area and IMF agreement on financial support pro gramme for Greece”, (EU Commission, May 2010), https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/articles/eu_economic_situati on/2010 - 05 - 03 - statement - commissioner - rehn - imf - on - greece_en.htm 24 Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs , “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece” , (European Commission, Occasional Papers, May 2010 ), . N°61 , page 15 25 Directorate Genera l for Economic and Financial Affairs , “The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece” , (European Commission, Occasional Papers, May 2010 ), . N°61 , page 20 11 1. 3 Bailout #2 On February 21 st , 2012, a week or so after a demonstration of more than 80,000 anti - austerity protesters, the Greek government agrees to a second bailout deal 26 The 2 nd bailout, worth around 130 billion euros, was agreed by Troika officials and the Papademos government to be ultimately necessary. The first economic adjustment programme had not given financiers positive results and unil aterally impoverished Greece 27 Thus, the Troika had identified two choices: either let Greece go bankrupt, or continue pumping cash into the machine until it worked. As the country’s unemployment soared, public debt reached 172.1% in 2011, an increase of about 17% from the previous year 28 In spite of this, the Troika doubled down and placed their bets on stronger austerity measures through a second EAP. “Implementation risks will remain very high. The success of the second programme depends chiefly on Greece 29 ” wrote the Troika. In short, the second bailout programme included a ‘haircut’, or voluntary devaluation, of more than 50% to the debt Greece had already amassed from the programe. This noteworthy step in the direction of debt forgivene ss could however be argued to have been dwarfed by the increased demands for austerity 30 Greece had to, once again, reduce pensions, minimum wage, contract the public sector and deregulate goods and services. This ‘liberalisation’ of the economy was chara cteristic of the Troika, and in - line with their previous demands from the first EAP , as a continuation of austerity 31 While Greece suffered under the weight of the debt it had accrued, with notices of late payments to international authorities stacking up , the Troika and Greek government had agreed to press on with their strategy. In fine , months after the third austerity package passes, unemployment still hovered at around 25%, with the last financial quarter of the year 26 Fouskas, V. & Dimoulas, C., “Greece, Fina ncialization and the EU: The Political Economy of Debt and Destruction”, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), page xx 27 Spiegel, P. & Barker, A., “Eurozone agrees second Greek bail - out”, (Financial Times, Brussels, February 2012), https://w ww.ft.com/content/a3445f64 - 5c4c - 11e1 - 911f - 00144feabdc0 28 Eurostat, “General Government Gross Debt – Annual Data”, (EuroStat, 2020), https://ec.e uropa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=teina225&plugin=1 29 European Commission, “The Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece”, (European Commission, Occasional Papers, March 2012), N°94, Summary for non - specialists, page 1. 30 International Monetary Fund, “Request for Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility”, (IMF, March 2012), pages 2 - 9 31 European Commission, “The Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece”, (European Commission, Occasional Papers, March 2012), N°94. 12 showing a +7% contraction of the e conomy, and political parties at all extremes of the political spectrum, notably the neo - nazi party Golden Dawn, began earning increasing support 32 1. 4 Austerity Around the World While Greece’s first and second bailout failed in reaching almost all of their essential targets 33 34 , this was not the first time a country endured austerity. It could be said that, in some sense, almost every country in the world has , at one time, adopted a form of austerity. In the words of Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, auster ity is often used as “cover for an alternative agenda, namely and attempt to reduce the overall size of government 35 ”. From the United Kingdom to Brazil, austerity has been used as a tool to fight deficit. The IMF has worked for decades to advance structur al adjustment programmes and deficit - cutting instruments throughout the world, with few success stories. Yet in 2012 already, the Chief Economist of the IMF, Olivier Blanchard, issued a statement 36 confirming what many economists such as Krugman already be lieved: austerity was causing more damage than good. “The increase in inequality engendered by financial openness and austerity might itself undercut growth 37 ” , warned the IMF in 2016. Originally thought - up as a part of neoliberalism, austerity has often been found to hit the poorest first and hardest 38 . As social safety nets are cut, wages lowered and state spending diminished, citizens of austerity - ridden nations suffer from an absent government and a fearful private sector. The debate continues still to day, as some believe it to be the best way to reduce government deficit when it has 32 Fouskas, V. & Dimoulas, C., “Greece, Fina ncialization and the EU: The Political Economy of Debt and Destruction”, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), page xxi 33 For example, deficit as % of GDP in 2014 stood at twice the 2 nd EAP target amount. 34 O ECD, “Country Fact Sheet: Greece”, (OECD, 2015), https://www.oecd.org/gov/Greece.pdf 35 Krugman, P., “The Austerity Delusion”, (The Guardian, April 2015), https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng - interactive/2015/apr/29/the - austerity - delusio n 36 Plumer, B., “IMF: Austerity is much worse for the economy than we thought”, (The Washington Post, October 2012), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/10/12/imf - austerity - is - much - worse - for - the - economy - than - we - thought/?arc404=true 37 Elliott, L., “Austerity policies do more harm than good, IMF study concludes”, (The Guardian, May 2016), https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/27/austerity - policies - do - more - harm - than - good - imf - study - concludes 38 Ridge, T., “ ‘We are All in This Together’? The Hidden Costs of Poverty, Recession and Austerity Policies on Britain's Poorest Children ”, (Children and Society, 2013), Volume 27, page 407 13 reached unmanageable levels, while others see it as misguided atrophy with little chance for positive outcomes. 2. The Environmental Crisis 2 .1 Context ualising the Crisis The second crisis examined throughout this essay is one of global proportions. Unlike the Greek financial and austerity crisis where the full impact was felt by a single nation, the environmental crisis does not discriminate. Every coun try is situated in one or more ecosystems, benefits from natural resources and lives, to some degree, in harmony with the biosphere it occupies. To borrow Karl Marx’s holistic perspective: “nature is man’s inorganic body 39 ”. As such, humankind is intimatel y and intricately linked to nature and its fate. For the last decades, scientists everywhere have sounded the alarm, showing signs of a growing crisis: our planet is dying. In his Stern Review , former chief economist for the World Bank and expert on clima te issues Sir Nicholas Stern writes “There is now clear evidence that emissions from economic activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels for energy, are causing changes to the Earth’s climate 40 ”. A decade later, we now know more about climate change than ever. From the disruption of the water cycle and holes in the ozone layer to crop failures and rising seas, the climate crisis has the potential to destroy all that humankind has built. It is now se en as an existential threat to our and most other species on the globe. Every year the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues an ‘Emissions Gap Report’, comparing the emissions gap between current pathways and scenarios to those which scientists say would mean the least damage to humankind. Typically, the UN IPCC examines 3 types of major climate scenarios: 1.5°C, 2°C and above 2°C. These temperatures refer to increases in global average tem peratures by 2100 compared to pre - industrial averages. A change of 1.5 degrees 41 39 Marx, K., “Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844”, (Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1959), page 3 1 40 Stern, N., “The Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change”, (Cambridge University Press, London, 2007), preface. 41 United Nations IPCC, “Global Warming of 1.5°”, (UN IPCC, 2018). 14 means increases in the deregulation of the water cycle, in mean temperatures around the world as well as sea level ris ing. Once the planet reaches 2 degrees, the effects of cl imate change are exponentially worse. Compared to 1.5°, average drought length doubles, wheat yields fall by twice as much and the frequency of warm extremes skyrockets from 130% (1.5°) to 343% (2°) 42 Going past 2° of warming takes us to a future where co ral reefs cannot grow back properly. Climate change, especially the acidification of the oceans, would prevent corals from growing and cause untold damage to the food chain 43 The science is clear, going anywhere past 2 degrees of warming would cause irrev ersible loss and destruction. Although these facts have been presented repeatedly, the world is still on course for warming above 3 degrees Celsius 44 The UN IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report , is resolute and firm in its conclusion that “human influence on t he climate system is clear 45 ”. The climate crisis is varied in its causes and impacts, but anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems and regenerative cycles is now scientifically indisputable. Greenhouse gases are observed to be the leading cause of global warm ing, as they trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise. However, humankind has also wrought havoc on ecosystems and not just worsened global warming through a destruction of planetary defences but we have also upset the balance of m any biospheres around the world through human actions. For instance, deforestation has accelerated desertification throughout the world, which then affected levels of biodiversity and reduced the Earth’s carbon storage capacities by destroying carbon - stori ng forests, grasslands etc. Thus, the impacts of human over - exploitation of nature have been varied and numerous 46 The Earth has been unable to handle greenhouse gas emissions due to the burning of fossil fuels, as well as the destruction of its cooling mechanisms, and proceeded to warm exponentially. 42 Carbon Brief, “The impacts of climate change at 1.5C, 2C and beyon d”, (Carbon Brief, 2018), https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/impacts - climate - change - one - point - five - degrees - two - degrees/?utm_source=web&utm_campaign=Redirect#reference - list 43 United Nations IPCC, “Global Warming of 1.5°”, (UN IPCC, 2018), page 10 44 United Nations, “ UN emissions report: World on course for more than 3 degree spike, even if cli mate commitments are met ”, (UN News, November 2019), https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1052171 45 United Nations IPCC, “Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report”, (UN IPCC, 2015), page 2. 46 Unite d Nations IPCC, “Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report”, (UN IPCC, 2015), spm section 1 15 Whilst little of the debate remains over the extent to which human s are responsible for the destruction of ecosystems and the warming of planet Earth, one could argue the debate has now mostly moved on to whether or not our economic system is at fault 47 In fact, many economists 48 around the world now postulate that the entire neo - liberal capitalist system may not only be at fault but also incompatible with climate change objectives. Whilst this is still very much a topic of debate, it could be that parts of our economic system, such as austerity, may for example have mul tiplication effects. Environmental groups of all kinds have argued for a change of economic system, from Extinction Rebellion 49 to Indigenous Action 50 , pointing out the contradictions between an unregulated profit - driven economy, where nature finds itself commodified, and a future where humans live within the confines of nature’s regenerative cycles, without causing harm to it. 2.2 Recent Effects of Climate Change Many studies done on climate change and its effects attempt to theorise on the state of our p lanet in 2050 or 2100. However, the effects of climate change are already being felt today. To begin with the Arctic, a crucial cog in the biological machine of our world, there is evidence the region may be without ice during summer periods within the next decade 51 More than half of the planet’s freshwater is stored in the poles , at risk of melting under record temperatures and raising sea levels by considerable amounts. The effects of those raising temperatures are already the subject of scientific re ports today. In the Canadian high arctic, the “observed maximum thaw depths (...) are already exceeding those projected to occur by 2090(...) 52 ”. As permafrost and glaciers melt, they not only raise sea levels, but they also release stored carbon and reduce th e 47 Storm, S., “ Capitalism and Climate Change: Can the Invisible Hand Adjust the Natural Thermostat? ”, (Development and Change, December 2009), page 1012 48 Varoufakis, Y. , “Climate Change is capitalism’s Waterloo”, (Irish Examiner, January 2020), https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakin gnews/views/analysis/yanis - varoufakis - climate - change - is - capitalisms - waterloo - 978758.html 49 XR, “Our demands”, (Extinction Rebellion, 2020), https://rebellion.earth/the - truth/demands/ , last visited 04/05/20 50 IA, “About”, (Indigenous Action, 2020), http://www.indigenousaction.org/about - 2/ 51 Fountain, H., “Climate change is accelerating, bringing world “dangerously close” to irreversible change”, (The New York Times, December 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/climate/climate - change - acceleration.html 52 Farquharson, L., “Climate Change Drives Widespread and Rapid Thermokarst Development in Very Cold Permafrost in the Canadian High Arctic”, (Geographical Research Letters, June 2019), page 6681 16 planet’s defences against global warming 53 On the other side of the globe, Antarctic ice is currently melting at triple the rate of melting from 2007 due to rising temperatures 54 In more populated areas around the world, numerous scientists and academ ics have pointed the finger at climate change for effects such as the declines in rainfall and increases in heatwaves. Recently, academics have been postulating that one of the cataclysms for the Syrian civil war, a multi - year long drought, could have been worsened by climate change 55 While events such as the war in Syria have a multiplicity of causes, not just climate change, the fingerprint left on the region is irrefutable according to scientific models. Across the world, river levels have been observed at record extremes, similar to rainfall and heat trends. However the environmental crisis isn’t just about climate and extremes, biodiversity has also been irreversibly damaged by humankind. Reports on glob al ecosystems warn we have already entered the “sixth mass extinction”, by demonstrable losses of vertebrate species, especially larger and more obvious ones. In the realm of insects, 41% of species have declined in numbers over the past decade, with more than 10% being labelled as endangered just from that period alone 56 Thus, the varied effects of climate change and environmental degradation are currently being felt by ecosystems around the world, with seemingly catastrophic predictions for the end of the century. 2. 3 Greek Environment and Climate Coming back, briefly, to the subject country of this essay, Greece is not immune to the climate crisis. Like all other nations it has suffered losses and adverse effects because of it. Greece’s geography consi sts of mountainous regions giving into peninsulas and an archipelago of thousands of islands 57 Most of the population lives in a few high - density clusters, around Athens and several other cities, with the rest 53 Fountain, H., “Climate change is accelerating, bringing world “dangerously close” to irreversible change”, (The New York Times, December 2019), https://www.nytimes .com/2019/12/04/climate/climate - change - acceleration.html 54 Pierre - Louis, K., “Antarctica is Melting Three Times as Fast as a Decade Ago”, (The New York Times, June 2018), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/climate/antarctica - ice - melting - faster.html 55 McSweeney, R., “ Scientists discuss the role of climate change in the Syrian civil war ”, (Carbon Brief, March 2015), https://www.carbonbrief.org/scientists - discuss - the - role - of - climate - change - in - the - syrian - civil - war 56 Carrington, D., “Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’”, (The Guardian, Feb ruary 2019), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/10/plummeting - insect - numbers - threaten - collapse - of - nature 57 CIA, “Europe: Greece”, (CIA Factbook, 2020), https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the - world - factbook/geos/print_gr.html 17 primarily spread around numerous islands and coasts. With only 10 million inhabitants, Greece is one of the richest countries of Europe when it comes to biodiversity , with “a great range of habitat niches and a spectacular flora and fauna 58 ” From forests of pine to marine parks, Greece boasts remark able landscapes and natural riches. However, Greek people, companies and governments have slowly but surely encroached on nature’s domains over the past decades. Before the 1990s 59 , the environment in Greece had only received symbolic attention. After it j oined the EU, Greek governments became profoundly influenced by EU green policies and began making serious progress in increasing protection, monitoring and funding for the environment. Therein, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Greece established a wide array of agencies and organisations whose roles were intimately linked with the protection of Greece’s rich natural heritage. The Greek Ombudsman, the National Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development as well as the Environment Ministry constitute the culmination of a few of the positive changes undertook by Greek governments during this period 60 In total, 28 different bodies were created for the management of protected areas, a number that reflected the growing importance succ essive Greek administrations accorded to nature. However, this positive trend was cut short as the new decade arrived, and the 2010s signalled a new era of decline for Greek environmentalism 3. Intersectionality of Crisis 3.1 Note on Scope and Method No w that we have contextualised the crises which constitute the subjects of this analysis, the scope and method must be outlined. Both the global climate crisis and the Greek austerity crisis are complex and varied in their effects. To assess influences betw een these two areas, we must first consider the scope of what will be examined, as well as what will be left out due to concerns of brevity In an attempt to 58 IUCN, “Greece”, (IUCN, 2020) , https://www.iucn.org/regions/europe/resources/country - focus/greece 59 Lekakis, J.N., “Economic Crisis: Troika and the Environment in Greece”, (South European Society and Po litics, May 2013), page 311 60 Ibid, page 319. 18 display a degree of depth and breadth, just four major areas of environmental concerns will be studied: 1. Fauna and Flora 2. Pollution 3. Disasters 4. Human/Nature Relations Each area will be looked at in detail, and data will be reviewed to observe whether or not there are links between austerity policies - introduced throughout the first and second EAPs, from 2010 to 2012 – and environmental degradation. Proof of causality w ill not be attempted, however A s stated in the introduction, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate potential links and suggest findings on the question of the extent to which austerity policies have harmed the environment, and in return how that damage may have caused discernible harm to the Greek people. To this purpose, the following analysis contains findings from peer - reviewed academic articles, databases and reports from Non - Governmental Organisations, government and intergovernmental papers, as wel l as first - hand accounts documented throughout reputable news organisations or books. 3.2 Fauna and Flora The Convention on Biological Diversity 61 (CBD) numbers the amount of animal species in Greece at more than 23,000 , with almost 4,000 categorised as endemic , or native, to Greece. On the side of Greek flora, the country is home to almost 6,000 species of plants, with 22% of them being endemic. Unfortunately, 14% of Greece’s fauna and 4% of its flora is considered ‘endangered’. While t hese numbers may n ot seem it, they are relatively important compared to other European co