KOZANI, Greece – “The ‘green transition’ in Western Macedonia must be just and not sudden,” main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras said in a meeting he had on Thursday with the mayor of Eordea, Panagiotis Plakentas, in Ptolemaida, and he expressed his concern over the launch of measures to phase out the use of lignite.

“I am very concerned about the future of the region. We all want the green transition, but it must be just and not sudden and leave no one behind. We are, unfortunately, in the midst of developments which are not good and we have to sound the alarm. Let us take measures and especially initiatives to overturn this prospect”, said Tsipras.

“Ptolemaida and Eordea are in the eye of the storm, with the phasing out of lignite, and we must press the government to take the kind of initiatives that mean the impact of phasing out lignite is not negative,” the mayor said.