Covenant of Mayors initiative-Public perception issues and barriers in Greece

The Covenant of Mayors (COM) initiative invites cities to commit themselves to reduce voluntarily the greenhouse gas emissions within their territories. This manuscript presents the COM initiative and analyzes its mechanisms. In order to better quantify the penetration of the initiative, the authors introduce suitable "participation factors". Moreover, a study and a survey are presented concerning the COM initiative in Greece. Certain barriers are identified preventing the realization of the initiative's full potential in Greece. Results from the public survey indicate lack of proper information and communication about the COM initiative and the obligations arising from its signing towards the citizens itself. Nevertheless, once the citizens are informed properly, the public acceptance of the initiative and its commitments is considerable, to the extent that its success, would influence the vote of a substantial percentage of citizens. The positive role of supporting structures is evaluated and may be demonstrated through the survey's results and discussion. Recommendations are provided for future or existing signatories based on the findings of this work. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.