Energy Transition in Greece: A Regional and National Media Analysis

Media coverage plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception of the energy transition. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of how the lignite phase-out is represented in Greece, both by national and regional media, with a specific focus on the impacted region of Western Macedonia. Using data from the Leipzig Corpora Collection and regional news portals from 2013 to 2022, the analysis reveals significant divergences between media levels. While both show synchronized peaks for key terms like “Climate change” (2019) and “Western Macedonia” (2021), regional media addressed the direct impacts of the transition earlier and more intensely, with terms like “post-lignite” and “de-lignification” peaking in 2020 following the announcement of the Master Plan. National media framed the transition within a broader, top-down policy context, often with an optimistic tone, reflecting EU directives. In contrast, regional media provided a community-centric perspective, highlighting concerns over job losses and the preservation of local identity. The findings underscore a clear tension between official narratives of progress and local-level concerns, demonstrating that media discourse is a critical, multi-faceted component of just transition processes that policymakers must consider.