Posted on October, 29 2020

Unfortunately, due to the restricted number of participants and the increased participation interest, all available positions for the e-conference “Law under the challenge of the environmental crisis” have been filled. A video of the full conference proceedings with subtitles in Greek and English, will be available on our website very soon. Thank you very much for your understanding and for your interest in participating in the conference!


The conference will be held under the patronage of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who will address the conference.

Recent scientific studies have analyzed the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss on the planet and people’s lives, and show beyond doubt that urgent action is needed. All evidence indicates that the next decades will be critical.

But how could the environmental law adapt to and address these constantly changing conditions? The speakers are invited to join the discourse and deliberate on this discussion point.

In the first part of the conference, the panelists will focus on the importance of the environmental permitting procedure as an essential tool for the prevention of the environmental damage. Konstantinos Menoudakos, Honorary President of the Council of State, will chair the panel. 

In the second part, the panelists will focus on the role of science as a basis for the development of environmental law. George Lialios, journalist, will chair this panel.

The conference will host renowned speakers from around the world; Christoph Sobotta, Réféndraire at the CJEU; Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the EEA; Anastasia Romanou, climate research scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Marta Ballesteros, Associate Manager at Milieu Consulting, Sprl.; and Matthias Duwe, Head, Climate at Ecologic Institute.

Among the speakers are; Alexander Koulidis, Head of Unit C in the Directorate of Environmental Licensing at the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy; George Karipsiades, Head of EU Law Department in the Legal Service at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ilias Kouvaras, JD, Administrative Judge and postdoctoral research fellow in law. On the part of WWF Greece, CEO Demetres Karavellas, Head of policy Theodota Nantsou and Legal coordinator George Chasiotis will also participate at the conference.

The aim of the conference is to promote the public discourse on critical issues of environmental law and the need to forge stronger links between environmental laws and science in order to proactively better protect the health of our planet and people.

The conference will be held online via the Zoom platform. Simultaneous interpretation in Greek and English will be available through the course of the conference.

The abstract of the conference is available here.

The program and the names of the conference speakers are available here.

Thank you for your interest in the “Law under the challenge of the environmental crisis” e-conference. Unfortunately, the participants' capacity has been reached.