The extractive industry plays an important role in Greece's economy. Nevertheless, in years to come, Greek mining enterprises may face economic losses due to climate change. This study aimed, for the first time, to explore the perceptions and attitudes of Greek mining practitioners towards climate change, and to investigate existing and planned climate-change adaptation and mitigation actions. To this end, a bottom-up survey based on face-to-face interviews of key practitioners from all of the operational mines in the Cyclades region of Greece was conducted. According to the results, mining enterprises are already experiencing negative impacts of extreme weather events. The major vulnerabilities of these enterprises relate to the management of excess rainwater, strong winds, and unusually high or low temperatures. However, the adaptation actions implemented by the companies are not systematic or are not always labeled as such, while most of their mitigation actions are performed to improve energy efficiency and achieve better economic outcomes. Even though the mining sector perceives climate change to be a threat to its activities, it has not invested the resources required to adapt to the future climate. Further, scientific knowledge of this phenomenon is limited among mining practitioners. To this end, governments and institutional stakeholders should promote climate-change awareness and disseminate successful adaptative actions to increase the future resilience of the mining sector.
Mavrommatis, E; Damigos, D
Impacts of climate change on the Greek mining industry: perceptions and attitudes among mining industry practitioners operating in the Cyclades
Euro-Mediterranean Journal For Environmental Integration