The Center for European Studies and the European Union Center are honored to host Jürgen Salay as the 2017-18 EU Fellow.
Jürgen Salay is an expert on European climate policy with close to 20 years of professional experience in preparing, negotiating and implementing climate legislation on national and European Union (EU) level. He has worked extensively in the field of international and EU climate policy, including on EU policies and measures, the European Emissions Trading Scheme and climate co-operation with Russia and Eastern Europe. From 1999 to 2009, Salay represented the EU in international climate negotiations.
Salay works as a civil servant for the European Commission where he is monitoring the implementation EU Member States’ obligations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. In 2016 he wrote a report evaluating the implementation of EU climate legislation in its Member States. Salay joined the European Commission in 2003 after four years as senior advisor with the Swedish National Energy Agency. Before becoming a civil servant he was a researcher and advisor on Eastern Europe affairs focusing on energy and environment.
Salay holds a PhD in Environmental and Energy Systems Studies from Lund University, Sweden, a Master’s degree in Energy and Resources from University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic History and East European Studies from Uppsala University, Sweden. He speaks English, German, Russian and Swedish and has a working knowledge of Dutch, French, Hungarian and Polish.
During his stay at UW, Salay will conduct research on what is driving local and state level climate action in the USA, and how such initiatives are shaping American climate policy. The geographical focus of his research the project will be on the Pacific Coast states (Washington, Oregon and California).