Athens Circular Forum II

After the success of the first Athens Circular Forum in bringing the Circular Agenda at the heart of the public debate during the municipal, regional and European elections of May 2019, this year we are happy to announce that the Athens Circular Forum 2021, which will take place on May 31 and June 1, is the Partner Event for Greece in the EU Green Week, a pan-European policy event that will see the participation of stakeholders from all over Europe to discuss and determine the future of European environmental, energy and climate action to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

ACF 2021 is organised by a network of the most active players in the green transition in Greece, including the Bank of Greece, Sporos Platform, Symbiosis, EIT Climate-KIC, Athina Research, the Regional Growth Conference, the University of Aegean, UN SDSN, Green Fund and the Hellenic Association of Space Industry to bring you high-level discussions with distinguished guests and the best examples in the market, right now, of what this Circular Transition will look like for everyday life. The 2021 edition of the Athens Circular Forum will be multi-platform, live-streamed and with significant content to be provided on the website for a holistic overview of the Green Transition in Greece.

The EU Green Week will precede the much-anticipated publication by the European Commission of the Action Plan “Towards a Zero Pollution Ambition for air, water and soil – building a Healthier Planet for Healthier People”. The Athens Circular Forum will thus be an opportunity to showcase to the wider European audience the efforts undertaken on the ground at national level to achieve these European objectives and will conclude with the publication of a White Paper on the Zero Pollution Ambition to underline the needs and potential of Greece in this fundamental transformation of our time.

Day 1 will open with a Plenary Session with high-level institutional representation which will discuss the general framework of the Green transition from an international, European and national perspective, followed by a panel dedicated to exploring the opportunities that lie ahead in terms of Green financing.

Day 2 will begin with a panel on youth participation and climate resilience, in which the winners of a student competition on designing the motto of this year’s Athens Circular Forum will be announced, in conjunction with the showcasing of emerging ideas and innovative businesses from one of the most dynamic accelerators that Greece has to offer. This panel will be followed by a focus on the blue economy and sustainable tourism, with particular emphasis on technological solutions for the shipping industry to be able to transition to carbon neutrality. Finally, the third panel of the day will explore innovative circular and bio-business practices that are already happening, to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation for all those who have yet to start their transition towards the green economy.

Everyone is welcome and we hope you will join in this intense but exciting discussion about the future!