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The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) defines enhanced reporting obligations applying to 15 priority additives added to cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco. A consortium of 12 international tobacco companies submitted 14 reports that were reviewed by an independent scientific body within the Joint Action on Tobacco Control (JATC). The reports were evaluated in accordance with the TPD with regard to their comprehensiveness, methodology and conclusions. Here we present their significant identified methodological limitations. The toxicological and chemical evaluation in the industry reports was mainly based on comparative testing, which lacks discriminative power for products with high toxicity and variability, like cigarettes. The literature reviews were biased, the comparative chemical studies did not assess previously identified pyrolysis products, the toxicological evaluation did not include the assessment of inhalation toxicity, and pyrolysis products were not assessed in terms of toxicity, including their genotoxic and carcinogenic potential. For both chemistry and toxicity testing, the statistical approach applied to test the difference between test and additive-free control cigarettes resulted in a high chance of false negatives. The clinical study for inhalation facilitation and nicotine uptake had limitations concerning study design and statistical analysis, while addictiveness was not assessed. Finally, the methodology used to assess characterizing flavors was flawed. In conclusion, there are significant limitations in the methodology applied by the industry. Therefore, the provided reports are of insufficient quality and are clearly not suitable to decide whether a priority additive should be banned in tobacco products according to the TPD.

Urban identity (UI) is a multi-faceted concept that encompasses different aspects of urban environment, built heritage and natural environment and is also related to important properties of the cities. The paper studies the associations between the inhabitants’ perceptions of UI and their socio-demographic profile. The city of Thessaloniki is the case study of this research. The research was based on data collection via structured questionnaires, and the results were statistically analyzed using: descriptive statistics, χ2 analysis, crosstabs method, regression analysis and discriminant analysis. The results show that UI, being a generally unknown term to the public, incorporates the notions of history and culture, urban environment, social behavior and everyday life, and it is influenced by social and economic factors. The perceptions on the city’s identity are associated with gender, age and family status, as well as the way people spend their spare time. It emerges that, in Thessaloniki, a policy mix is necessary to preserve and upgrade the historical assets of the city, along with the improvement of its every day functions.

The scope of the study is to detect spatial changes in the forested areas over six decades (1945 - 2010) of two completely different landscapes in Greece (pilot areas). The first pilot area is Kastoria which is a relatively remote and mountainous area located northwestern on the Greek peninsula, while the second one is Propontida which is a coastal area in the Chalkidiki peninsula (central Macedonia, Greece). High resolution orthorectified aerial images are used to detect the general types (classes) of land use/land cover (LULC) in these pilot areas. The results reveal that during the examined period, a notable spatial growth and thickening of the forest areas was found (10,51%) in the pilot area of Kastoria. The spatial homogeneity of the forested areas in Kastoria decreased only by 2,11%. Regarding Propontida, the forested areas decreased in total about 13,02% while the agricultural and arable land has increased by 12,10%.

Objectives: E-cigarettes are electronic devices containing a liquid that usually consists of a mixture of glycerol, propylene glycol and nicotine, with or without flavorings, in various concentrations. A vapor or aerosol is produced, and inhaled from the user, when this liquid is heated by a heating coil. This work examines the impact of three parameters (e-liquid composition, nicotine content and air flow) on the transfer of metals' from the heating coils to the e-liquids.Materials and methods: A distillation unit was used, where 20ml of an e-liquid were boiled with two commercial heating elements. Four e-liquids: 100% Propylene Glycol, 100% Glycerol, 50/50% Propylene Glycol/Glycerol, 33.3/33.3/33.3% Propylene Glycol/Glycerol/Water, three nicotine contents: 0, 0.4 and 0.8% per volume and three air flows: 0, 0.5 and 1.0 L/min, were used. The liquids were analyzed by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry to determine the final content of metals.Results and discussion: Five metals, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb, were found to be transferred from the heating coils to the e-liquids. The transfer of those metals increases with air flow and nicotine concentration, while e-liquid composition also has a significant impact. Glycerol enhances the transfer of metals compared to propylene glycol and their mixtures. The boiling temperature of the e-liquids increases significantly the transfer of metals in the e-liquids.Conclusions: There is a transfer of metals from the heating coils to the e-liquids. This transfer depends on the e-liquid composition and on the boiling temperature.

CO2 emissions in Greece have increased significantly in recent decades. Many researches point out that Greek’s economy structure is characterized by a strong interdependence of energy use and economic growth, so that any increase in national production leads to an increase in CO2 emissions. In this sense, Greek’s economy structure does not allow policies to de-escalate the level of CO2 emissions without cost in terms of economic growth. This paper focuses on investigating the short and long term relationship between Gross National Product (GDP), CO2 emissions and gross energy use over the period 1960-2014, using appropriate econometric tools. Additionally, the impact of the urbanization rate on CO2 emissions is examined. The exploration of these relationships is part of the Kuznets Environmental Curve (EKC) theory that economic growth ultimately leads to a degradation of environmental degradation.Keywords: Kuznets Environmental Curve; CO2 emissions; energy use, Granger causality; GreeceJEL Classifications: Q01, Q40, Q50, Q56DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.9671

One of the major problems of modern cities is waste management. Cooperation and active public participation are key elements in the effective implementation of waste management programs. The purpose of this work is to investigate the views and attitudes of Athens residents towards recycling, composting and the operation of green centers, which are the key elements of solid waste management as it follows from the recently updated National Waste Management Plan. A structured questionnaire was designed and addressed to the residents of Athens. According to the main findings, half of the respondents are involved in recycling, and the majority of the respondents are willing to participate in future composting programs and have a positive opinion about the operation of green centers. The main obstacle for their further participation is their hesitation regarding the proper operation of the programs (recycling, composting, green centers). There is a need to build up the trust between citizens and the state. Active public involvement is required to successfully implement municipal solid waste strategies during all the phases (planning, siting and operation) in order to ensure public acceptance. In addition, targeted information and awareness campaigns can also contribute to this aim.

Plastics have become an integral part of daily human life for the last 50 years because, due to their durability, low cost and ease of construction, they have replaced many other materials. However, the same characteristics that make plastics particularly desirable are also what make them ubiquitous in the environment, especially as much of the plastic is designed to be discarded almost immediately after use. This study investigates the opinion and behavior concerning the current use of plastics, their end-of-life (recycling) scenario, and the potential for their replacement with more sustainable and biodegradable materials in Greece and Lebanon. The survey was conducted during April and May 2021 in the main cities of the two countries. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were analyzed, using simple descriptive statistics, chi-square test and PCA analysis. The results show that even if the respondents of both countries stated significant awareness of environmental issues, they often use single-use plastics. Furthermore, the respondents (in both Greece and Lebanon) say that it would be fair to pay more for products in a package made of biodegradable materials. Finally, the statistical analysis of the results shows that in both Greece and Lebanon, there is a small increase in the use of reusable products during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic.

International audience; The European Union Tobacco Products Directive (EU TPD) mandates enhanced reporting obligations for tobacco manufacturers regarding 15 priority additives. Within the Joint Action on Tobacco Control (JATC), a review panel of independent experts was appointed for the scientific evaluation of the additive reports submitted by a consortium of 12 tobacco manufacturers. As required by the TPD, the reports were evaluated based on their comprehensiveness, methodology and conclusions. In addition, we evaluated the chemical, toxicological, addictive, inhalation facilitating and flavoring properties of the priority additives based on the submitted reports, supplemented by the panel's expert knowledge and some independent literature. The industry concluded that none of the additives is associated with concern. Due to significant methodological limitations, we question the scientific validity of these conclusions and conclude that they are not warranted. Our review demonstrates that many issues regarding toxicity, addictiveness and attractiveness of the additives have not been sufficiently addressed, and therefore concerns remain. For example, menthol facilitates inhalation by activation of the cooling receptor TRPM8. The addition of sorbitol and guar gum leads to a significant increase of aldehydes that may contribute to toxicity and addictiveness. Titanium dioxide particles (aerodynamic diameter

Recently, among European Union (EU) member states, but also globally, there have been available and successful recycling and treatment practices of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW). Greece has currently implemented low recycling levels, 21%, of the annually produced MSW, compared to the EU regulations. In 2021 the prefectural authorities of Attica Region launched a pilot program of rewarding recycling with source Separation called “THE GREEN CITY”. This program consists of 60 mobile green points (MGPs) that serve at a unified citizen awareness and MSW collection at 7-streams network throughout the prefecture of Attica. In this study, the whole design analysis of “THE GREEN CITY” pilot recycling program contained estimations and calculations of (a) the distances of all waste collection remote itineraries (basic analysis); (b) the annual fuel cost of the MGPs for the realization of all waste collection remote itineraries (financial-based analysis); and (c) the annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere from the IVECO MGPs during the coverage of all waste collection remote itineraries (environmental-based analysis). Then a research synthesis of all these analyses revealed and evaluated the pilot recycling program’s real capabilities and limitations in alignment with: (a) its ultimate goal to help Greece achieve the setting target of Directive 2018/851 for at least 55% by weight recycling and reuse of the total annually generated Greek MSW by 2025 and (b) the MGPs proven ability to support environmental sustainability in densely populated prefectures such as Attica.

Decomposition Analysis is widely applied to break down the total energy demand into components linked to factors, describing how energy changes occur and how the energy consumption mechanism works. The study analyzes worldwide energy trends and driving factors over the years 1990 to 2014. In Index Decomposition Analysis on a regional scale, we examine the factors of energy intensity, GDP per Capita, and population size, while on a global scale, we examine energy intensity, global distribution of GDP to regions, and GDP as a total. A Decomposed Decoupling Index is estimated from global data. According to our empirical findings, the unprecedented energy demand from 1990 to 2014 was due to uneven economic and demographic changes between historic developed and emerging economies that led to dramatic regional changes in the distribution of GDP and energy use. Overall, we conclude that despite recent technological advances in energy intensity the global economy is set to a weak decoupling suggesting that energy needs should be satisfied with the alternative of renewable energy resources.

This study aimed to examine the thermal environment in schoolyards under Mediterranean conditions, and the impact of two interventions on the amelioration on the bioclimatic conditions. The investigation was performed for three schools in Athens, Greece, through microclimatic simulations by ENVI-met, for a typical day in June, and was evaluated based on the air and surface temperature values. The bioclimatic index Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) was applied to evaluate the thermal comfort conditions. By that, the school under the most adverse thermal conditions was selected for the application of two interventions, which increased the greenery by 25% (Proposal 1) and 50% (Proposal 2). The surface coating material “safety floor slabs”, was selected to replace the others in both proposals. Through microclimatic simulations, the following results were obtained: “Proposal 1” caused a 2.3°C reduction in surface temperature, and a 4% reduction in PET values. ‘Proposal 2’ caused an 8.1°C reduction in surface temperature, and an 11% reduction in PET values. The cooling effect of ‘Proposal 2’ was double compared to ‘Proposal 1’, achieving a maximum air temperature reduction by up to 0.8°C. The cooling effect produced was limited to the areas affected by tree shade, leaving the unshaded areas almost unaffected.

It is estimated that energy poverty affects between 50 and 125 million people in Europe. Rates of energy poverty vary among Member States, but are generally higher in Southern and Eastern Europe. The aim of this study is to investigate the scientific production related to energy poverty, fuel poverty and energy vulnerability through a bibliometric analysis, using Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis was performed for Year, Subject area, Source type, Document type, Affiliation, Country/Territory, Funding sponsors and an analysis of the keywords used. The study uses three keywords: “energy poverty”, “fuel poverty” and “energy vulnerability”, and records the works published from 1981 to 2021. There has been a significant increase in the number of publications in the last decade. Energy is the most productive subject area, followed by Environmental Science and Social Sciences. There is also a significant geographic centralization, with most of the works published in the United Kingdom and the United States. Economically developed countries produced more academic research than developing countries; the research institutions with the highest production comes from the UK, USA, Spain and Greece. For further analysis to reveal the new research trends, the first 160 keywords used are categorised according to their content.

This paper studied the recycling and the reuse of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) with Source Separation. These practices are commonly utilized in the European Union (EU) and internationally, giving successful recycling and treatment examples mainly for 7 selected - segregated household waste streams: a) paper and cardboard b) plastics, c) metals, d) glass, e) clothing and textiles, f) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and g) Edible Oil Wastes (EOW). Greece implements lower recycling levels, 21%, of the annually produced MSW comparing to the EU. In 2021 the Regional Government of Attica launched a pilot program of rewarding recycling with Source Separation called “THE GREEN CITY”. This program consists of 60 Mobile Green Points (MGPs) that serve a unified citizen awareness and waste collection (7 MSW streams) network throughout Attica. This network includes numerous temporary parking and operation spots for the MGPs. A 56% of them is located next to recreation and green areas, registering at least 70,000 citizens in the program and collecting approximately 400 tons of clean recyclable MSW (April 2022). Therefore, “THE GREEN CITY” program serves the setting target of Directive 2018/851 for at least 55% by weight recycling and reuse of the Greek MSW by 2025.

Citation suggérée:Anses (2021). Priorisation des substances chimiques à rechercher dans les émissions des produits du vapotage en vue de l’évaluation des risques sanitaires. Rapport d’expertise collective (saisine 2020-SA-0016). Maisons-Alfort : Anses, 57 p.; La directive 2014/40/UE sur les produits du tabac établit des règles concernant la fabrication, la présentation et la vente des produits du tabac et produits connexes. Elle instaure notamment une obligation de déclaration1 des produits avant toute commercialisation. Cet enregistrement des produits ne relève pas d’un processus d’autorisation de mise sur le marché.Les produits du tabac et produits connexes sont classés en trois catégories :- Les produits du tabac ;- Les produits du vapotage ;- Les produits à fumer à base de plantes autres que le tabac.Certaines informations à transmettre sont communes à ces trois catégories de produits notamment la composition en ingrédients et additifs avec leurs quantités. D’autres informations sont spécifiques à la catégorie : il s’agit notamment des mesures à l’émission de composés formés lors de l’utilisation des produits du vapotage.La déclaration auprès des autorités de chaque État membre concerné est un processus informatique centralisé selon les modalités du point d'entrée électronique commun de l'Union européenne. Mis au point par la Commission européenne, il est opérationnel pour réceptionner les déclarations depuis le 20 mai 2016, date d’entrée en application de la directive.En France, la directive 2014/40/UE a été transposée par l’ordonnance N°2016-623 du 19 mai 2016 qui introduit les nouvelles dispositions au titre Ier du livre V de la troisième partie du Code de la santé publique (CSP). Les décrets des 11 et 22 août 2016 ainsi que les arrêtés du 19 mai et 22 août 2016 complètent les dispositions règlementaires nationales. L’autorité administrative compétente est le ministère chargé de la santé.Dans le cadre de cette transposition, l’Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (Anses) a été désignée pour assurer la réception, le stockage, le traitement et l’analyse des informations transmises par les déclarants sur leurs produits.L’obligation règlementaire de déclarer ces informations doit permettre d’améliorer les connaissances quant à la composition des produits, l’impact sur la santé et l’évolution de la demande et de l’offre des produits du tabac et produits connexes.En outre, certains ingrédients et additifs sont interdits : il s’agit notamment des substances cancérogènes, mutagènes et toxiques pour la reproduction, des vitamines, des stimulants tels que la caféine ou la taurine (articles L. 3512-16 et L. 3513-7 CSP).Mi-2020, plus de 33 000 produits du vapotage ont été enregistrées sur le marché français. La mission confiée à l’Anses se traduit par la conduite de travaux d’expertise portant sur l’identification et l’évaluation des dangers des substances chimiques auxquelles le consommateur ou son entourage sont exposés lors de l’utilisation de ces produits. Au-delà de la fumée de tabac dont les effets sanitaires sont connus, l’enjeu porte plus particulièrement sur les substances émises par les produits du vapotage et les nouveaux produits du tabac chauffé lors de leur utilisation.[Saisine liée « 2018-SA-0189 , Produits du tabac : bilan 2016 - 2020 »]

The Greek National Energy and Climate Plan was validated by the Greek Governmental Committee of Economic Policy on 23 December 2019. The decisions included in this plan will have a significant impact on the Greek energy mix as the production of electricity from lignite combustion ceases in 2028, when lignite will be replaced by natural gas (NG) and renewable energy sources (RES). This work presents an assessment of the Greek National Energy and Climate Plan by analyzing its pros and cons. The main critiques made are focused on the absence of risk analysis and alternative scenarios, the proposed energy mix, the absence of other alternatives on the energy mix and energy storage, the low attention given to energy savings (transport, buildings), the future energy prices, and the economic and social impacts. This analysis shows that delaying this transition for some years, to better prepare it by taking into consideration the most sustainable paths for that transition, such as using more alternatives, is the best available option today.

Introduction: Imposed quarantines for COVID19 and the «staying home»campaign reduced COVID19 spread. However, there is concern about medical avoidance behavior with consequent delay in the diagnosis–treatment in lung cancer (Ca) patients. Aim: To study the rate of hospital admissions for new lung Ca diagnosis during the first imposed quarantine in Athens. Methods: Retrospective, observational study of all consecutive patients hospitalized and diagnosed with lung Ca during the 8-week quarantine and comparison with the relative period before and after quarantine as well as the respective 2019period. Hospital admissions per week for each respective period were compared using Poisson regression. Results: 78 hospitalizations for first lung Ca diagnosis were recorded. The majority of patients were diagnosed with NSCLC stage 3-4 or extended SCLC in all studied periods (79% in 2020, 77% in 2019). As depicted in fig, during quarantine there was a non-significant reduction in lung Ca diagnosis compared to the respective 2019 period. However, a rebound 122% increase in admissions was recorded at the post-quarantine period (p=0.047). Conclusion: During quarantine hospital admissions for newly diagnosed lung cancer showed a non-significant reduction, with concomitant rebound increase at the post quarantine period. There is an implication of medical avoidance behavior during quarantine resulting in delayed diagnosis of lung cancer.

Asthma exacerbations are a common cause of ED visits and can be life-threatening for patients with asthma. Identification of these patients characteristics could help improve their management and reduce exacerbations rate. We called for a 3-month follow-up visit patients that visited ED and were initially diagnosed with asthma exacerbation. Patients with a definite diagnosis of asthma were finally assessed in terms of the following parameters (Table 1a). 100 patients were enrolled, with 34% being newly diagnosed with asthma. The majority of them had mild asthma, outreaching 72.6% in GINA stages I and II. 13.7% were classified in stage III and 13.7% in stages IV/V. Prior to ED visit treatment included ICS/LABA(32.3%), SABA as needed(24.2%), ICS/LABA plus LAMA(19.4%), ICS/LABA as needed(9.7%) and 8.1% did not receive any treatment. 62.3% were adherent at prescribed treatment. Active smoking was self-reported by 40.4% and passive smoking outreached 31% in non-smokers. Following HAD’s score evaluation 31.2% showed anxiety and 12.5% showed depression (cutoffs>11). See all characteristics on Table 1b. Conclusively, 1/3 of patients visiting ED with asthma exacerbation, were newly diagnosed with asthma. Most of patients were classified in stages I and II and a significant proportion used SABA monotherapy prior to visit. Smoking, poor adherence, psychopathology and commorbidities were highly prevalent characteristics among participants.

Le travail presente ici a permis le developpement de methodes pour l'analyse du dioxyde de soufre, des alcools et des acides organiques. La premiere methode comprend le piegeage du SO2 dans une solution d'eau oxygenee et l'analyse par chromatographie ionique equipee d'un detecteur conductimetrique. La seconde, un prelevement des alcools dans de l'eau pure et une analyse par chromatographie en phase gazeuse equipee d'un detecteur d'ionisation de flamme. La troisieme, un prelevement des acides organiques dans l'eau pure et une analyse de l'acide formique par chromatographie ionique, et des acides superieurs par chromatographie gazeuse. Ces methodes sont appliquees a la recherche de precurseurs de polluants non reglementes issus d'emissions de vehicules. Un plan d'experiences, combinant des carburants specifiques et l'analyse des gaz d'echappement, est conduit sur un moteur CFR. Ces tests demontrent plusieurs correlations qualitatives et quantitatives entre les composants du carburant et les polluants emis. Des precurseurs d'hydrocarbures, d'aldehydes, de cetones, d'alcools et d'acides organiques sont ainsi decouverts. Les plus importants resultats montrent que les aromatiques et le cyclohexane contribuent a l'emission du benzene, l'1-hexene et le cyclohexane a celle du 1,3 butadiene, les aromatiques a la formation de l'acide propionique et l'o-xylene a celle de l'acide butyrique.

We conducted a retrospective observational study to assess the hospitalization rates for acute exacerbations of asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) during the first imposed lockdown in Athens, Greece. Patient characteristics and the concentration of eight air pollutants [namely, NO (nitrogen monoxide), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), CO (carbon monoxide), PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5), PM10 (particulate matter 10), O3 (ozone), SO2 (sulfur dioxide) and benzene] were considered. A total of 153 consecutive hospital admissions were studied. Reduced admissions occurred in the Lockdown period compared to the Pre-lockdown 2020 (p &lt, 0.001) or the Control 2019 (p = 0.007) period. Furthermore, the concentration of 6/8 air pollutants positively correlated with weekly hospital admissions in 2020 and significantly decreased during the lockdown. Finally, admitted patients for asthma exacerbation during the lockdown were younger (p = 0.046) and less frequently presented respiratory failure (p = 0.038), whereas patients with COPD presented higher blood eosinophil percentage (p = 0.017) and count (p = 0.012). Overall, admissions for asthma and COPD exacerbations decreased during the lockdown. This might be partially explained by reduction of air pollution during this period while medical care avoidance behavior, especially among elderly patients cannot be excluded. Our findings aid in understanding the untold impact of the pandemic on diseases beyond COVID-19, focusing on patients with obstructive diseases.

Natural resources are gradually coming under continuous and increasing pressure due to anthropogenic interventions and climate variabilities. The result of these pressures is reflected in the sustainability of natural resources. Significant scientific efforts during the recent years focus on mitigating the effects of these pressures and on increasing the sustainability of natural resources. Hence, there is a need to develop specific indices and indicators that will reveal the areas having the highest risks. The Water and Land Resources Degradation Index (WLDI) was developed for this purpose. WLDI consists of eleven indicators and its outcome results from the spatiotemporal performance of these indicators. The WLDI is based on the Standardized Drought Vulnerability Index (SDVI) and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Index (ESAI). The WLDI is applied for the period from October 1983 to September 1996, considering Greece as a study area. The results of the application of this index reveal the areas with the highest risks, especially in the agricultural sector, with less than the needed water quantities due to extensive periods of droughts. This index could be used by scientists, but also by policy makers, to better and more sustainably manage environmental pressures.

The global world’s financial crisis of 2008–2009 caused a global recession that greatly affected the economy of Greece. Since then, Greece faces a severe financial crisis and governments announced, among other measures to tackle this crisis, the implementation of green growth strategies. The aim of this study is the investigation of public’s perceptions of green growth strategies that have been implemented so far, the investigation of the effect of the socioeconomic characteristics on these perceptions and the identification of patterns of attitudes toward the concept of green growth. For this purpose, a questionnaire was constructed and addressed to 500 inhabitants of Athens. The majority of the respondents believe that economic growth can be enhanced by green growth. On the other hand, most of the respondents, mainly younger and more educated people, express a strong prejudice for its adoption by enterprises and its implementation by the state. Overall, results reveal that despite the announcements of the political parties concerning green growth policy, the majority of the respondents accepts and applauds green growth as a theoretical concept rather than counting its benefits as an already implemented policy. These findings consist an important assessment tool for policy makers that can be used to redesign policies in order to achieve the goals of green growth and to meet the real needs of the citizens in a period of economic crisis.

This study applies an integrated approach to investigate public perception of residential water issues during a period of economic crisis. The study investigates the perceptions and practices of At...

Summarization: In Greece, energy use in the residential sector corresponds to 24.4% of the total energy use in 2014, showing an increase of 13.8% in the period 1995–2014. Although the technical characteristics of a building have a significant impact on residential energy use, the behavior of the occupant is also crucial. Our aim is to investigate the interrelationships between the energy use behavior of occupants and their socio-demographic characteristics. The data used for this study were collected through a structured questionnaire. The survey was conducted during the spring of 2016 in the city of Athens. 451 people responded. The questionnaire comprised three parts: (a) building characteristics, (b) occupants' behavior, and (c) socio-demographic profile of occupants. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the behavioral patterns (components) of occupants. Six energy behavioral patterns are identified: (a) environmentally aware, (b) environmentally friendly, (c) adopting energy saving practices, (d) having economic motivation behind energy saving practices, (e) environmentally uninvolved, and (f) environmentally unaware. These types are correlated with the socio-demographic profile of occupants highlighting the importance of gender, age, educational level, number of members per household and income in energy use and saving. In conclusion, energy behavior is quite complex and it is strongly associated with the socio-demographic characteristics. Within this context, policies regarding the improvement of energy use in residential sector should be tailored to specific needs of the target population groups. The three main axes are the increase of education level, the increase of environmental awareness of young people and the provision of financial incentives for the retrofit of energy saving devices for the citizens with lower income. Presented on: Energy and Buildings

Renewable Energy Sources (RES), used to produce energy from natural processes, are nowadays used to meet the ever-increasing energy requirements worldwide, replacing conventional energy sources. Conventional energy sources are finite and under depletion. On contrary, renewable energy sources are constantly appearing in the natural environment. The main forms of RES are solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and biomass. Many countries around the world have adopted the application of RES in order to become energy independent. However, the acceptance or the rejection of RES by citizens has an important role, as no new technology related to them can be effectively implemented without the social acceptance. The aim of this study is the investigation of the acceptance or the rejection of RES in Athens, the capital of Greece. The social acceptance of RES was examined using a structured questionnaire addressed to 536 inhabitants of Athens. Overall, the results reveal that most of the participants are in favour of the development of RES and declare themselves supporters to these investments. Nevertheless, the majority of the respondents do not want the projects to be located near their residences and they are not particularly willing to contribute financially to their development. The results of this study can be a useful tool for policy makers in order to design an effective energy policy toward the further penetration of RES in the energy mix.

The aim of this work is to investigate and analyze the scientific production related to energy, sustainability, and climate change through a bibliometric analysis. The Scopus database is used to analyze the documents published in the topics of energy, sustainability, and climate change until end of 2019. The bibliometric analysis is performed under the criteria of: scientific field, source type, document type, journal, country and institution, in association with the publication year. The first publication in this search and the evolution in time is shown. This comprehensive analysis shows the trends of the global scientific production on energy, sustainability, and climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic that erupted in early 2020 has affected the everyday life, the practices, and the perceptions of the global population significantly. The aim of this paper is to investigate the perceptions, experiences, and practices of the active population regarding everyday urban life (working conditions, mobility, urban space, etc.) in the context of the first wave of the pandemic, by focusing on people who live and work in Greek cities. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire addressed to an active population. The majority of respondents declared that their personal and family lives were affected by the lockdown, with significant effects on their professional life and economic activities. Stress and fear were two feelings that increased. As far as mobility was concerned, the majority of respondents were unwilling to change their commuting practices. Although most of our findings presented a homogenous distribution in our sample, some changes in perceptions, experiences, and practices were correlated with the gender, age, and family status of the respondents. The results of the analysis provide useful information to policy makers and show that it is necessary to radically rethink aspects of urban space and urban mobility, in relation to the multiple problems and dynamics of the active population.

Introduction: BTEX are classified as carcinogens by WHO. This study quantifies BTEX emissions from different tobacco products. Methods: 12 different products were used: 4 slim cigarettes, 6 classic and 2 heated. Each one was connected to a 20mL vial. The vials were initially evacuated by a pump for 2 minutes, then the cigarettes were lit and the smoke was collected for 30s in the vial. Then, the smoke was analyzed using solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Each test is replicated three times. Results: Figures 1 and 2 show the BTEX emissions for all products. The emissions were not normalized for nicotine uptake. The emissions of classic products are the highest, while the emissions of slim cigarettes corresponds to 15-35% of the classic ones. However, the emissions os classic cigarettes are very scattered and those of some products are very close to the emissions of slims. The emissions of the two HTP corresponds to 1.5-3.5% of the classic cigarettes. Conclusions: The BTEX emissions of classic cigarettes are the higher but very scatted, those of slims generaly lower and those of heated products even lower.