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Monthly Spotlight, January 2025
31 January 2025
In this edition of our monthly spotlight, we feature Dr Yaroslav Melekh, Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, and undergraduate student Alexander Anderson, 2024-25 European Institute Student Ambassador.
Yaroslav Melekh
Yaroslav Melekh is a Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources. His research interests cover a range of interconnected issues around energy economics and climate finance in developing countries.
In his profile, Yaroslav writes:
Europe is going through the process of reinventing its identity. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the EU to significantly reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, review its energy security and set ever-ambitious climate targets. In fact, energy security and the military conflict, by some estimates, have played a more significant role in the EU transition than stringent ‘green’ policies.
Alexander Anderson
Alexander is a second-year student in French and Spanish. He is also a 2024-25 European Institute Student Ambassador.
He writes:
My interest in European affairs intensified with the rise of populist rhetoric across the continent, coinciding with major political events such as the Brexit referendum and Trump 1.0 (and now 2.0!). Witnessing the tensions between national sovereignty and collective European cooperation further deepened my curiosity about how the EU adapts to evolving challenges.
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