Greece's institutional response to sustainable development

Abstract

Evidence indicates that despite some notable efforts, Greece's response to the challenge of sustainable development has been limited, the impediments being strategic, structural, and procedural. Institutional fragmentation, the drive for economic convergence with the northern countries of Europe, and the absence of a strong environmental movement in Greece, all attest to this reality. The emphasis of the research presented here is on the commitment of Greece to designing and implementing sustainable development strategies, in response to the resolutions of the 1992 Rio Conference, as well as relevant European Union initiatives. This commitment is assessed by looking at well accepted prerequisites to these strategies, including policy co‐ordination, targets of accountability, green accounting, awareness raising, and the integration of environmental objectives into sectoral plans.