Kostas Cartalis is a Professor in the Section of Environmental Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He is also a Collaborating Professor at the Hellenic Open University in the field of “Environmental Design”. He is an honorary doctor of the Democritus University of Thrace and has been awarded the Medal of the City of Athens.

He is a member of the United Nations subsidiary body for the implementation of the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement, and a member of the Assembly of the European Commission’s “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” mission.

He has served as Lecturer and Assistant Professor in the Section of Environmental Physics (NKUA), and as Visiting Professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is a graduate of the Department of Physics, NKUA (1985), and holds a Master’s in Atmospheric Physics, a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Atmospheric–Environmental Physics (using satellite techniques), all from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

He has served as Secretary General of the Olympic Games at the Ministry of Culture (2001–2004) and Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISTAME) (2005–2007). He was a technical advisor to the Mayor of Athens, Antonis Tritsis, and is a board member of the Antonis Tritsis Foundation for the Rights of Peoples. In 2007 he was elected a PASOK Member of Parliament for Magnesia and was re-elected in 2009. He served as Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Hellenic Parliament (2010–2012) and Chairman of the Greece–Korea Friendship Committee.

Internationally, he has served as Vice-President of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, member of the Scientific Committee and the Board of the European Environment Agency, member of the Support Committee of the European Union’s Earth Monitoring Centre, and member of the European Network of Parliamentarians for the Environment.