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Energy and GHG Emissions Aspects of the COVID Impact in Greece

Author

Listed:
  • Dimitri Lalas

    (FACE 3 TS S.A., 1 Agiou Isidorou Str., 11471 Athens, Greece)

  • Nikolaos Gakis

    (FACE 3 TS S.A., 1 Agiou Isidorou Str., 11471 Athens, Greece)

  • Sebastian Mirasgedis

    (National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymfon, Thesseon, 11810 Athens, Greece)

  • Elena Georgopoulou

    (National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymfon, Thesseon, 11810 Athens, Greece)

  • Yannis Sarafidis

    (National Observatory of Athens, Lofos Nymfon, Thesseon, 11810 Athens, Greece)

  • Haris Doukas

    (Decision Support Systems Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Politechniou 9, 15780 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

The effects of COVID-19 have had devasting effects on both health and economies in 2020. At the same time, the lockdown and the downturn of economic activity resulted in a decrease in energy consumption and an accompanying reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, a comparison with the temperature adjustment of energy use is presented for the main carriers of electricity, natural gas, and oil products in the residential, tertiary, industry, and transport (road transport, domestic aviation, and navigation) sectors in 2020 against the previous two years in Greece, along with the corresponding emissions. As the comparison covers the entire year, both COVID peaks in the March–April and November–December periods and the corresponding lockdown effects as well as seasonal variations are included. The analysis shows a reduction, adjusted for temperature, of 3528 GWh in electricity and 10,286 GWh in transport, and an increase of 1916 GWh in heating and other final uses for a net 11,898 GWh decrease and a resulting emissions reduction of 3.48 MtCO 2 eq (1.29 MtCO 2 eq in electricity, 2.69 MtCO 2 eq in transport, and an increase of 0.54 MtCO 2 eq in heating), or 4.1%, from total national emissions in 2019. The effect is, to a considerable extent, the result of drastic tourist activity contraction, which is starkly evident in the electricity consumption in the Aegean islands. The comparison between the two lockdown periods brings out clear differences, with the reduction in the second one being considerably smaller as the population reverted, to a large extent, to pre-COVID behavior, which implies that no permanent gains from the COVID long-term impact toward decarbonization should be expected.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitri Lalas & Nikolaos Gakis & Sebastian Mirasgedis & Elena Georgopoulou & Yannis Sarafidis & Haris Doukas, 2021. "Energy and GHG Emissions Aspects of the COVID Impact in Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:7:p:1955-:d:528803
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Tomasz Wołowiec & Iuliia Myroshnychenko & Ihor Vakulenko & Sylwester Bogacki & Anna Maria Wiśniewska & Svitlana Kolosok & Vitaliy Yunger, 2022. "International Impact of COVID-19 on Energy Economics and Environmental Pollution: A Scoping Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    3. Lukas Hartwig & Reinhard Hössinger & Yusak Octavius Susilo & Astrid Gühnemann, 2022. "The Impacts of a COVID-19 Related Lockdown (and Reopening Phases) on Time Use and Mobility for Activities in Austria—Results from a Multi-Wave Combined Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.

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