The covenant of mayors initiative: Status in Europe and barriers towards realizing its full potential in Greece

The Covenant of Mayors (COM) initiative invites cities to commit themselves to reduce voluntarily the greenhouse gas emissions within their territories. In this paper the COM initiative is presented and its mechanisms are analyzed. Emphasis is given to its current status in Europe through the introduction of suitable “participation factors”. Moreover, a study is presented concerning the COM initiative in Greece. The situation is presented and analyzed, showing that there exist barriers in realizing its full potential in Greece. The conclusions indicate lack of proper information and communication about the COM initiative and the obligations arising from its signing, difficulty in securing financial support for the development of the required BEIs and SEAPs and limited support from the communities themselves. The results may be used generally for other country´s signatories.