Seaports will play a pivotal role in the low-carbon transition of maritime shipping, the policy landscape in which is currently being shaped. In this context, we introduce a multi-criteria decision support framework for seaport sustainability planning, to identify the competitiveness of interventions under uncertainty and evaluate the direction of the sector’s policy context in terms of required actions. The framework, based on the 2-tuple TOPSIS model, heterogeneous variables, and a Monte Carlo robustness analysis, is empirically applied to the port of Piraeus, Greece, to explore the most competitive interventions and their vulnerability to uncertainties. To inform port authorities and policymakers in the sector, we emphasise the added value of selected, inexpensive actions for energy efficiency and hybrid mobility. Furthermore, we find costly and seemingly obligatory actions under current European legislation, like cold ironing and LNG, to be robust and in the right direction if perception of non-financial risks is reduced.

Energy poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that affects many Europeans. Alleviating energy poverty is high in the EU, national, and local policy agendas. Despite the attention the phenomenon has been gaining from a policy perspective, especially after the current energy crisis, there are still some gaps due to the complexity of the issue and its vastly different manifestations across Europe. This manuscript presents the policy implications stemming from the implementation of the POWEPROOR approach in alleviating energy poverty in eight European countries, as co-created with relevant stakeholders in each country. The knowledge gained from empowering energy-poor citizens by promoting behavioural changes and small-scale energy efficiency interventions, as well as by encouraging the uptake of renewable energy sources in the form of collective energy initiatives while leveraging innovative financing schemes, resulted in policy recommendations for national and sub-national governments and lessons for civil society and the private sector.

Energy poverty is an important issue affecting many Europeans. To successfully mitigate it while putting citizens at the heart of the energy transition and fostering energy democracy, bottom-up approaches need to be pursued at a policy level. Collective energy actions can pave the way towards the uptake of renewable energy, enabling and incentivising consumers to become prosumers. Due to their nature, collective energy actions can contribute to empowering citizens to participate in the energy market, especially when combined with innovative financing schemes that can secure the funds needed to invest in renewable energy projects. In this chapter, the notion of employing collective energy actions to support citizens to tackle energy poverty leveraging joint energy initiatives that use renewable energy is investigated. The principles of collective innovative actions are presented along with their link to renewable energy, followed by the notion of community finance and crowdfunding. Then, a discussion on how this approach can be especially beneficial in mitigating energy poverty is provided. Finally, the case of Greece is presented. The status of energy poverty in Greece and the legal framework of collective energy actions such as energy communities is given along with the challenges that need to be addressed to foster citizen participation and enhance energy democracy for the case of Greece.

Energy poverty remains a pressing social and policy challenge across Europe, particularly in countries like Greece, where economic disparities and climatic conditions vary significantly between regions. This paper presents a scalable and transparent methodological framework for assessing energy poverty using the 10% indicator based on the actual energy expenditure, calculated exclusively from open-access statistical data. The study estimates annual 10% metric values from 2012 to 2023 at both national and regional levels, covering all 13 administrative regions of Greece. By integrating key variables such as household energy consumption, energy prices, income, population distribution, and heating degree days, the framework enables regional comparisons without relying on costly or inaccessible household-level data. The results reveal substantial regional disparities, with northern and mountainous areas consistently exhibiting higher 10% index values due to lower incomes and greater heating needs, while southern and island regions remain less affected. Despite national values remaining below the conventional 10% threshold throughout the period, the findings highlight that significant areas of vulnerability persist. The proposed approach offers a practical tool for policymakers to identify high-risk areas, prioritize building renovation efforts, and support socially inclusive energy transition strategies across the EU.