Τhe Climate Change Hub at the the Athens Democracy Forum 2025

On October 1, 2025, the Climate Change Hub organised a Module as part of the Athens Democracy Forum, titled “The climate crisis in a world where democracy is in crisis.
How can cities speed up the transformation process while strengthening democratic processes?”. The event took place at the Athens Conservatoire and featured two panel discussions, along with the artistic exhibition titled “TOPOS in Need.”

Maria Logotheti, President of the Climate Change Hub, opened the event highlighting that growing public dissatisfaction in politicians and politics, underlining the consequences of this distrust on the functioning of democracy and on the diminished effectiveness of climate transition measures. She also emphasised the crucial role of evidence-based policymaking and the contribution of the Climate Change Hub in this area.

The first panel, titled “The Climate Crisis in a World Where Democracy is Under Threat,” included Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens; George Papaconstantinou, Professor of International Political Economy at the European University Institute and former Minister of Finance and Environment; Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy (Greater London Authority); and Loukas Tsoukalis, Professor at Sciences Po and President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). The panel was moderated by the journalist Iliana Magra (Kathimerini).

The second panel, titled “How Can Cities Accelerate the Transformation While Safeguarding Democratic Principles?” featured Maria Vassilakou, CEO of Vassilakou Urban Consulting, former Deputy Mayor of Vienna, and member of the EU Mission Board for 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030; Nikos Chrysogelos, Deputy Mayor for Climate Governance and Social Economy; Stelios Diakoulakis, Deputy Regional Director for Europe at C40 Cities and member of the Strategic Council of the Climate Change Hub; Marnie McGregor, Strategic Advisor to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy; and Haris Biskos, Urban Expert. The discussion was moderated by Paul Nelson, Founding Principal and Managing Director of Resilient Cities Catalyst.

The event was attended by representatives from the Municipality of Athens, political parties, the Bank of Greece, the Representation of the European Commission in Athens, and institutions such as EYDAP, PPC (DEI), ELIAMEP, ICLEI, and Greenpeace.

The discussions highlighted the unjust distribution of the burden of climate transition across society and the inability of municipalities to adequately respond to citizens’ needs due to a lack of sufficient resources and authority. However, it was also noted that when policies address people’s everyday lives citizens become more engaged and willing to participate. Cities have a moral responsibility to lead by example in the climate transition. ‘True’ Resilience requires not only institutional changes but also the active participation of citizens as a driving force in the transition.

For more information on the Climate Change Hub visit: https://cchub.eu/