Prof. Phoebe Koundouri is a world-renowned environmental economics professor and global leader in sustainable development. She is widely recognized as a pioneer in innovative, human-centric, interdisciplinary systems for the sustainable interaction between nature, society, and the economy. She is listed in the
1% of most-cited women economists in the world, and she is included within the official Stanford University list of the
Top 2 % of world scientists, with 15 published
books and more than 500 published peer reviewed scientific
articles, book
chapters, research and policy
reports.
She is University Professor (the university’s highest academic rank) at the School of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business. Also, she is Professor at the
Denmark Technical University, Department of Technology Management and Economics. Prof. Koundouri holds MPhil and a PhD in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Cambridge. For her studies she received a full scholarship from the University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust. She held academic positions at the University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Reading, London School of Economics.
Prof. Koundouri is Editor in Chief of the Journal Frontiers in Environmental Economics, co-editor of the official journal of EAERE Environmental and Resource Economics, associate editor for Nature: Climate Action journal, co-editor in Q-Open journal, as well as editorial board member in more then 30 economics and interdisciplinary journals. Over the last two decades, Professor Koundouri has given keynote and public lecturers, at high level forums all over the world, and received various prizes for academic excellence, including best paper awards, highest policy impact paper award, most impactful European Research project award.
Prof. Koundouri is one of the Commissioners of the prestigious
Lancet Commission on COVID-19 for which she co-chairs the “Green Recovery” Task Force. She co-leads with Prof. Jeff Sachs (president of SDSN) the
UN SDSN Senior Working Group on “Transformation Pathways for the implementation of EGD and the SDGs”, co-leads the the UN SEAs Blue Growth Initiative. She is a member of the CEPR (
Center for Economic Policy Research) Network (RPN) on Climate Change. She is IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) delegate for EAERE and she is European Climate Pact Ambassador for the European Commission. She is also member of the National Climate Change Committee of Greece, of the Ministry of Energy and the Environment, was member of the 2021 Pissarides Committee (10 year Greek Development Plan) chaired by Nobelist Prof. C. Pissarides, as well as chair or member of numerous European and International Scientific, Research and Policy Boards and Councils.
Since 1997, she has coordinated more than 100 interdisciplinary research projects, on
Sustainable Blue Growth,
Water-Food-Energy Nexus,
Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation and Sustainable Finance in all five continents, focused on combinations of Sustainable Development, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Behavioural Economics and Econometrics, Economics of Wellbeing and Happiness, Natural Resource-Food-Energy Nexus, Smart Water Systems, Ecosystem Services Valuation, Blue Growth, Circular Economy, Systems Innovation, Innovation Acceleration and Commercialization, and has attracted significant competitive research funding. Prof. Koundouri acts as a scientific advisor to the European Commission, World Bank, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, OECD, UN, NATO, WHO, World Water Council and various other Multilateral Institutions, as well as numerous national and international foundations and organizations. She also advises national governments across the world. Prof. Koundouri and her large interdisciplinary AE4RIA team (more than 200 researchers) have produced research and policy results that have contributed to accelerating research and innovation for the enablement of Sustainable Development and has contributed to shaping European and National policies.
Prof. Koundouri was born and raised in Cyprus and during 1991-2006 she studied and became Professor of Economics in the UK. Since 2006 she lives in Greece (Athens) with her husband, Prof. Nikitas Pittis, and their three daughters: Chrysilia, Billie and Athena.