The Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network

Organization: 
Central European University
Job Title: 
Program Developer and Researcher, Innovation and Sustainability

Michael LaBelle is an assistant professor at the Central European University Business School and in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy. He teaches courses on sustainability and innovation in business and energy policy. He conducts research on how institutions and organizations foster change to contribute to a low carbon future. Currently his research concentrates on international regulatory networks and the shale gas revolution. Previous work assessed the efforts of institutions in the European Union to encourage the use of new low or zero carbon technologies in the energy sector, including energy efficiency measures. Much of his research involves issues of risk governance, with special attention paid to the sunk cost of energy investments. In addition, he has written peer reviewed articles and consulting publications on the strategic movement of energy firms and the regulatory environment in the Central Eastern European region.

Dr. LaBelle is a member of the Atlantic Council’s Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network. Previously, he worked in the CEU Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy (3CSEP) and at the Regional Center for Energy Policy Research (REKK) at Corvinus University. He has worked on projects for the European Commission, United States Agency for International Development, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the Energy Regulators Regional Association and with energy consulting companies and European universities. He holds an MSc and PhD in Geographical Sciences from the University of Bristol.