Christos S. Zerefos
Secretary General, Academy of Athens; Climate Envoy for Greece
Christos Zerefos, Head, Research Center for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens. Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the Universities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Visiting Professor, Universities of Minnesota and Boston. Samarbeidspartnere (Scientific Collaborator), University of Oslo. He has been known for his research in ozone, UV, ozone-climate interactions and climate extreme events. His research led to important contributions to international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol. State Representative for Climate Change. Member, Academy of Athens, Academia Europaea, Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, European Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and other distinguished scientific societies.
Has received a number of internationally recognized awards, among which the Order of Honour from the President of the Hellenic Republic (2020), the title of Emeritus Professor of the Physics Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2018), Badge of Honor of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2018), “Honorary Member” of the International Ozone Commission (2016), the Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of Patras (2016), the Yoram Kaufman Award of the American Geophysical Union (2015), the French Government Decoration “Commandeur dans l’ordre de Palmes académiques“ (2015), the Blaise Pascal Medal, European Academy of Sciences (2015), Award and “Ioan Ursu” Medal of the Balkan Physical Union (2015, 2018), Medal of the City of Athens (2010), Professor Emeritus of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2010), the “European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award” awarded to the National Observatory of Athens for the establishment of the Geoastrophysics Museum and the rehabilitation of the buildings, the laboratories and the astronomical Library by D. Aiginitis with more than 10.000 historical volumes under his supervision (2010), the Gold Medal of the City of Thessaloniki (2008), the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, University Division of the American College ANATOLIA, Thessaloniki (2008), Award Certificate and Letter from UNEP and from IPCC for his substantial contribution to the reports of IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the former Vice President of USA, Al Gore (2008), Fellow, Institute of Physics (2002), UNEP Honourable Mentions (2013, 1999, 1995), Editors Award for Excellence in Refereeing, American Geophysical Union (1998), Global Ozone Award, UNEP on the 10th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol (1997). In the past 20 years has acted as author, contributor or reviewer in almost all WMO/UNEP Scientific Assessments of Ozone Depletion (Montreal Protocol Who’s Who http://www.unep.fr/ozonaction/montrealprotocolwhoswho/ PageFlip.asp). More than 200 research papers, h-index 51.
His proposal to the Greek Government for the creation of a flexible international mechanism to protect natural and cultural heritage monuments from climate change has been included in the emblematic UN activities by the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres. This initiative has been supported by 80 countries, by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization.
Has created from zero (1) The Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens (1978) (2) The Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1981) (3) The WMO Northern Hemisphere Ozone Mapping Centre (1991) (4) The Graduate Programme on Environmental Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1991) (5) The Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens (2003) (6) The UNESCO Chair on Natural Hazards in the Geosphere, the Hydrosphere and the Atmosphere (2007) (7) The Geoastrophysics Museum, National Observatory of Athens (2008) (8) The Navarino Environmental Observatory in Messenia (2009). His research work in peer reviewed scientific journals is acknowledged widely by the scientific community.