Following the Millennium Development Goals, in 2015 the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 169 sub-objectives. SDGs can be seen as an appeal to states to take action in 17 areas, including Energy (SDG 7), in order to improve the lives and prospects of all people in all parts of the world. The Objectives are non-binding and are not accompanied by any enforcement mechanism, however, the Agency has adopted a system of 231 indicators to evaluate their implementation and progress. This progress depends solely on the states, who are free to adopt the policies, plans and programs of sustainable development that they will follow. At the regional level, of course, the action of the European Union (EU) with legally binding procedures favors the implementation of the Objectives. Despite some delays, Greece has initiated this process and is taking a wide range of actions.
You may find the full text of this Policy Paper, by Othon-Alexandros Kaminiaris-Kontostavlos, PhD Candidate, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Junior Research Fellow, Institute of European Integration and Policy, by clicking here (in Greek language)