Welcome to the 9th issue of i-MBA SCOPE! In the shadows of the Pandemic, the world has started to see, for the first time since the 1990s, globally speaking, a tendency of increased inflation. This is essentially driven by the sudden, rapid and discontinuous increase of energy prices, in particular the price of electricity. Many refer to the current situation as a perfect storm where climate change, pandemic, geopolitical imbalances and emerging climate policies create a volatile and uncertain landscape driving the cost and price of energy. Hence, we found it timely to devote this issue of i-MBA SCOPE to the current energy transformation and turbulent energy markets.

In the first article, Professor George Ioannou, CEO of the Hellenic Energy Exchange S.A., discusses the drivers for the increase in energy prices and relate it to the ongoing energy transition. The Greek context and outlooks for the future, based on a wealth of data on energy consumption and use, are described. He further describes how the Hellenic Energy Exchange can facilitate the trading of electricity by applying new tools and methods.

In the second article, Professor Phoebe Koundouri, Director of the Research Laboratory in Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES) of AUEB, Director of the Sustainable Development Unit and the EIT Climate-KIC Hub of Greece, and President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE), focuses on the pressing needs for energy sector transformations, and shares insights from her participation in the United Nations’ 26^th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26) that took place in Glasgow, Scotland in November this year. Energy is a central parameter in the decarbonization efforts, which are key to fight against climate change and its related biological, social and economic effects. The transformations required are so large in scale that transnational cooperation and systemic approaches in research and development are a necessity. Professor Koundouri presents several research collaborations and programs that she leads in this direction and also shares her insights and impressions from her participation in the COP26 meeting. She ends her article in an optimistic tone based on an emerging strong business-economic-political potential for a climate-neutral, resilient planet.

In the Career and Alumni Corner, Evangelos Dimarakis, i-MBA alumnus and Senior Manager – Business Mgt. Global at E.ON, Germany, shares his insights about how various energy sources will be affected and evolve to meet the 2050 goal of net-zero emissions. The complete transformation of the global energy system that will be required will strongly affect the job market and careers not only in the energy sector, but across most industries. Ending on a more personal tone, Evangelos reflects on his own career path as an i-MBA graduate and provides useful advice to fellow graduates and current students.

The newsletter also contains program and alumni news, as well as suggested links related to the energy transformation and the current tariff and availability crisis.