Athens, Greece
#00176
Case study of
#00183 Create a funded municipal heat office with an annually updated heat action plan
Implementer
City of Athens, Chief Heat Officer (Eleni Myrivili 2021–2023, Elissavet Bargianni since 2023)
Timeline
Since Jan 1, 2021
Location
Description
Athens appointed Europe's first Chief Heat Officer (Eleni Myrivili) in 2021 under the Arsht-Rockefeller Chief Heat Officer program; Elissavet Bargianni has held the post since 2023. The office introduced a health-based heatwave categorization system, operates 7 cooling centers, planted roughly 10,000 trees, and began restoring Hadrian's aqueduct to supply irrigation water for urban greening. The CHO role is advisory rather than statutory, with an annual budget of approximately 120,000 EUR; physical interventions depend on EU project funding and philanthropy rather than the core budget line.
Metrics
4Funding
Lessons learned
- A budget of roughly 120,000 EUR per year cannot fund structural mitigation; the office must leverage EU projects and philanthropy for anything physical.
- Health-based heatwave categorization is a cheap, transferable innovation that outlives any individual officer.
- An advisory, non-statutory CHO depends on mayoral backing; anchoring the office in statute and a dedicated line budget is the critical unfinished step for institutional continuity.
Documented Jul 24, 2026