The Greek Current

The climate crisis and the post-Covid world: decarbonization, rare earths, and tech

Episode Summary

Sophia Kalantzakos and Constantine Karayannopoulos join The Greek Current to discuss President Biden's climate summit, the broader challenges that lie ahead in achieving the twin goals of decarbonization and digitalization, the role of rare earths and critical minerals, and where Greece fits in this discussion.

Episode Notes

This week President Biden hosted a two day virtual summit on climate change with forty world leaders, highlighting the issue as "the existential crisis of our time," and urging world leaders and businesses to take action. Sophia Kalantzakos and Constantine Karayannopoulos join The Greek Current podcast to discuss this climate summit, the broader challenges that lie ahead in achieving the twin goals of decarbonization and digitalization, the role of rare earths and critical minerals in this puzzle, and where Greece fits in this discussion.

Sophia Kalantzakos is a Global Distinguished Professor in Environmental Studies and Public Policy at New York University and a long-term affiliate at NYU Abu Dhabi, and is a frequent contributor to Kathimerini. She is currently a Senior Fellow in the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology at Caltech and The Huntington.

Constantine Karayannopoulos is a 30-year veteran of the rare earths sector and chief executive of the Toronto-based company Neo Performance Materials. Neo Performance Materials produces Rare Earth specialty materials for customers in electronics, automotive, medical, aerospace and green technology applications.

Read the latest by Sophia Kalantzakos here:

Rich Rocks, the Climate Crisis, and the Tech Imperium

Rare earths, the climate crisis, and tech-imperium

Read about Constantine Karayannopoulos here:

One CEO's decade-long quest to find cost-competitive rare earth minerals outside China

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: 

Biden calls on world leaders to invest in clean energy before ‘point of no return’

President Biden told Turkish President Erdoğan he's planning to recognize Armenian genocide

Biden told Erdogan he plans to call 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide

Greece closer to investment grade with ratings upgrade

S&P upgrades Greece’s rating and outlook