Call to Action
THASOS CALLING. WE ARE SENDING SOS.
On Wednesday 23 September, a courtroom in Athens will decide whether carbon dioxide is to
be buried beneath our sea — for ever.
Prinos and the North Sea: why the comparison doesn’t hold water
Prinos and the North Sea: why the comparison does not hold
An assessment of the Öko-Institut publication eco@work 09/2026 in the light of the particular conditions of
the Prinos area
A few days ago, on 15 September 2026, the German Öko-Institut published its new issue under the title «CCS – eine
sinnvolle Maßnahme für den Klimaschutz?» («CCS – a useful measure for climate protection?»). The publication
examines the role that CCS technology can play on the path towards climate neutrality and, under certain conditions,
identifies fields in which its application may be considered useful.
A different question, however, is of particular interest: to what extent are the same scientific and environmental
criteria applied to the assessment of CO₂ storage sites in the North Sea also applied in the case of Prinos?
That is precisely the purpose of this paper: to examine whether the criteria and conditions highlighted by this German
publication can be applied to the planned CCS project at Prinos.
This paper assesses a single publication and replaces neither a geological nor a legal expert opinion. Mapping the Öko-Institut’s
criteria onto the Prinos site is an analogy drawn from the state of the art, not an application of Greek law in force
The 10 Questions from Community Groups and Organizations in Thasos, Kavala, and Nestos
PRINOS’S 10 COMMANDMENTS
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF THE STRUGGLE
THIS TIME, THE “COMMANDMENTS” DON’T COME FROM ABOVE. THEY COME FROM SOCIETY.
September 17, Grand Club of Kavala. Two European programs present Prinos’s project as mature, safe, and European-certified.
September 23, Athens. The Council of State will rule on whether the permit for this project is lawful.
Between them: six days.
It is no coincidence that there are 10. Ten questions.
Ten points demanding clear answers.
Ten times the same demand: TRANSPARENCY
Thasos, Kavala, and Nestos are no longer watching in silence.
On the occasion of the presentation of the European HERCCULES and COREu programs, we are posing 10 specific questions regarding CO₂ storage in Prinos.
And these questions are not theoretical.
They concern:
• the surveys on the so-called “social acceptance” and who actually participated,
• the claim that CO₂ storage in Prinos has reached a technology readiness level (TRL8)
• whether a pilot CO₂ injection has taken place or is planned, and under what permit,
• the 76 boreholes and the integrity of their seals,
• the long-term seismic risk,
• the protection of Natura 2000 sites,
• funding and the role of public funds,
• and, above all, the question that must eventually be answered:
• WHO WILL FOOT THE BILL?
• Once responsibility for the stored CO₂ is transferred to the Greek government, how much will monitoring cost? Who made the calculation? And who will pay for it in the future?
• Why can’t the costs and environmental responsibility be tacitly passed on to future generations?
**10 QUESTIONS.
10 “DEMANDS” FOR TRANSPARENCY.
0 EXCUSES.**
We are not asking to be persuaded.
We are not asking to trust blindly.
We are not asking for more vague assurances.
**WE DEMAND THE FACTS.
WE DEMAND THE DOCUMENTS.
WE DEMAND THE ANSWERS.**
Because the seas off Thasos and Kavala are not a testing ground.
And the future of our region cannot be decided without us.
The 10 questions have been asked. Now we’re waiting for the answers.
They were shared with:
Ministry of Environment and Energy · EDEYEP S.A. · Center for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving (CRES) · Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace · Greek Members of the European Parliament · Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament.
EDEYEP S.A. · Center for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving (CRES) · Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace · Greek Members of the European Parliament · Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament.
No country has ever become rich from tourism
No country has ever grown rich on tourism.
Tourism and economic development — Thasos and Eastern Macedonia–Thrace
Lambros Sakellariou, August 2026
The line belongs to the analyst Marko Jukic, and it irritates — because it is largely correct. For Croatia to reach Switzerland’s GDP per capita, it would need 1.93 billion overnight stays a year. In 2024 it recorded 85 million. That is not difficult. It is impossible.
I have tried to analyse the subject from the perspective of Eastern Macedonia–Thrace, and of Thasos in particular. The links below lead to that analysis in German and English. The question for us here on Thasos is not theoretical. It is very concrete: what does this mean for an island of 13,000 inhabitants that multiplies its population every August?
On Thasos a model has been operating for years that few people call by its name. Visitors from the Balkans buy houses on the island and rent them to compatriots — through agencies and networks in their country of origin. Payment is made in Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade. What stays on Thasos is the waste, the cesspits, the water that runs out and the roads that cannot cope.
And here is the point public debate usually misses: this is not a legal loophole. Income from a Greek property is taxed in Greece — every double taxation treaty says so. It is an enforcement gap. Which is to say, a choice.
In the attached analysis I examine:
▪️ The “Balkan model” of Thasos — and where exactly the value leaks
▪️ The cost that stays on the island: waste, sewage, salinisation of the aquifers
▪️ CO₂ storage at Prinos — the case for, the case against, and the contradictions within the permitting documents themselves
▪️ And above all: what can be done at local level, starting this year
Because the conclusion is not pessimistic, it is practical: we do not need more tourists. We need measurement, fiscal capture and limits with legal force.
Degradation never arrives abruptly. It arrives as slow, accepted, everyday attrition — until even the last Balkan visitor stays away. Fellow islanders … get up out of your chairs!
CCS – Follow the Money
“CCS – Follow the Money”
=====================
The document linked below is a presentation of my latest study, “CCS – Follow the Money,” which focuses on the financing models for CCS projects in the EU. The aim of the study is to shed light on the economic side of the issue and the form of financial instruments offered by the EU or demanded by the oil and gas industry lobby. I believe this is a fundamental prerequisite for understanding the logic and tools underlying investments in CCS. Readers interested in the details also have access to the full text of the study.
