The MEDET of PAMEX Local Investment Finance Facility (PLIFF) together with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hellenic-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, lead successfully a side-event, at the Our Ocean Conference-9 which took place in Athens 15-17 April 2024, titled ‘Financing Ocean Economy and Political Mobilization within the Mediterranean Region’.
The panel, which was moderated by Helena Athoussaki, Chief Sustainability Officer of Motor Oil Group, included Dr. Petros Varelidis, Secretary General for Natural Environment and Waters, of the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, Nabil Medaghri-Alaoui representative of the Ambassador Olivier Poivre d’ Arvor, Special Envoy of the French President for the U.N. Ocean Conference, Gregory Dimitriadis, CEO and Executive Board Member, Growthfund, The National Fund of Greece, Christophe Nuttall, PhD, Coordinator of PLIFF, Founder Advisor Catalytic Finance, Thanasis Tsantilas, Vice Chairman Hellenic-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, CEO Rokas Renewables and Enrique Manzanares, University of Loyola, Director DELIMARA.
The discussion evolved around the political will and mobilization that has taken place by countries in the Mediterranean region that in conjunction with the appropriate financial instruments created, set the way for delivering projects that will cater to the need of protecting the ocean and the environment in the Mediterranean region and provide for sustainability.
The agreement of Greece, France and Spain in further developing the role of PLIFF, the financial mechanism of PAMEX, was highlighted by the participation of the Hellenic-Spanish Chamber of Commerce in PLIFF and the activation of the MEDET program for three new sectors, namely Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Health and Sustainable Agriculture and Aquaculture, on top of the initial three sectors of Green Ports, Waste Management and Nature Based Solutions.
In the interest of having new financial instruments, encouragement was given for the three countries to push for strengthening the draft of the European Union Net-0 Industry Act in the upcoming discussion and subsequent approval to take place once the new European Parliament is formed after the elections in June 2024. Special mention was made of how valuable public and private sector collaboration can be, in attaining positive partnership outcomes.
Dr. Petros Varelidis, declared the commitment by the Greek government to have two additional marine parks established, one in the Ionian Sea and one in the Aegean Sea, to ban bottom trawling in the national marine parks by 2026 and in all marine protected areas by 2030 and to establish a state-of-the-art surveillance system to effectively patrol these areas by 2026, and the removal of plastic litter in the water by 50% and microplastic by 30% by 2030, in relation to 2019. He also declared the commitment of the Greek government to launch a fund for the decarbonization of Greek islands, which will be supported by the European Emissions System.
Nabil Medaghri-Alaoui, representative of Ambassador Olivier Poivre d’ Arvor, Special Envoy of the French President for the U.N. Ocean Conference commented “ The Plan of action ‘The Mediterranean, a model sea by 2030’ is a concrete example of how political mobilization can help improving the protection of the Mediterranean. Our plan is to increase that political mobilization at the next United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in 2025 that we organize with Costa Rica”.
“ The Hellenic-Spanish Chamber of Commerce remains dedicated to fostering a collaborative spirit among businesses, governments and international initiatives like PAMEx and PLIFF to achieve a carbon-neutral and nature-positive future” said Thanasis Tsantilas, Vice Chairman Hellenic-Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
“ PLIFF is thrilled to welcome Greece’s public and private partners through MEDET, in particular the Hellenic- Spanish Chamber of Commerce. It will reinforce PLIFF thanks to its unique expertise, knowhow and high potential of portfolio of projects. PLIFF, thanks to the support of France, Spain and now Greece seeks to be operational on the field, implementing concrete green ports, waste and water management and protection and restoration biodiversity projects by the U.N. Ocean summit to take place in Nice, France in June 2025” said Dr. Nuttall, Coordinator of PLIFF, cofounder of Catalytic Finance. He declared in the panel the commitment by PLIFF for investments in the amount of € 1.5 billion in the initial three sectors.
“ Regarding public and private partnerships, experience tells that for these programs [PLIFF/MEDET] to reach out with enough impact, PPPs, public private partnerships, are a must. That is the story of the major infrastructure projects in the so called proximity countries to the E.U., as the example I gave in our panel discussion about the project in Krakow in Poland when it was not yet an E.U. member country, which was financed jointly by the European Bank for Research and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank. So, that approach is the PLIFF approach as well, following this best practice, which in the end results in an open source blending philosophy.” stated Enrique Manzanares of University of Loyola and Director DELIMARA.
“ Growthfund manages public assets, and sustainability is not just another tick in the box – it is a key dimension of economic growth. Τhis is why both the investments and the business plans of our subsidiaries are linked to ESG criteria, like the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund is transforming the Lavrio Port to a sustainable paradigm. Moreover, we are an active member of the EMENA Foundation that aims to serve as a regional platform for investment opportunities, among which in the blue economy.” commented Gregory Dimitriadis, CEO and Executive Board Member, Growthfund, The National Fund of Greece.
