Can there be a convergence between economic growth and environmental protection? This is the question that the debate on the topic "Economic development and marine protection" held in the framework of the 9th Delphi Economic Forum raised.

The new findings of the survey "What Greeks believe" that will be announced in the near future were reported by the Head of Research of the independent, non-profit research organization "diNeOsis", Fay Makantasi. Among them are:

1. The third most important threat to Greece's future is climate change with economic risks and demographics covering the top two positions.

2. Globally, climate change is the most important threat for Greeks

3. 88% believe that climate change is already affecting or will negatively affect their lives in the coming years

4. 9 out of 10 believe that it negatively affects marine life while

5. 83% believe that not much seafood and fish should be consumed due to overfishing and pollution.

6. 76% believe that coastal countries like Greece will be most affected by climate change 9 out of 10 are using greener light bulbs or recycling to protect the environment, while 44.7% are involved in collective actions such as reforestation and beach clean-ups.

As Ms. Makantasi stressed, the findings suggest that there is a great interest and willingness to participate in environmental protection at an individual rather than collective level.

At the same time, he stressed that an earlier study had shown that the average Greek emits 7 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, while the Fit for 55 targets should reduce this figure to 3 metric tons per year. In addition, he highlighted that there are perception gaps among Greeks as 3 out of 4 believe that arson is responsible for fires, while over half believe that wind turbine construction is to blame. One in three believe that wind turbines are bad for the environment. Finally, presenting a series of data, Ms. Makantasi stressed that natural disasters, such as in Thessaly, are a significant burden on the economy, while the increase in temperature in the coming years is expected to push up energy costs and consumption and put a strain on the health system.