Meet Our Team

Andrei Marcu Founder & Executive Director
Andrei Marcu has vast experience in managing policy-focused organisations, creating partnerships, managing stakeholder relations and fundraising. His focus has been on sustainable development, climate change and energy. In different capacities, he has been engaged in multilateral negotiating processes and subsequent implementation action, both at the global and sectorial level. He has acted as negotiator for developing countries, coordinator for the G-77 and China, and as representative of the international business community.  He pioneered cooperation between the UN system and multinational corporations when serving as Manager of Private Sector Cooperation in the United Nations Development Programme. 
 
During his career, Mr. Marcu has performed at the highest managerial level, both in business organisations and in non-profit organisations. This includes: Sr. Vice President and Head of Regulatory and Policy Affairs at Mercuria Energy Group; CEO of Bluenext, a Paris based exchange; Managing Director for Climate & Energy at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)  in charge of Energy and Climate and as Vice Chair of the Energy and Environment Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris; Senior Associate to the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Senior Advisor on Climate Change and Emissions Trading at Bennett Jones LLP in Canada; Founder, President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a business association with offices in Geneva, Brussels, Washington and Toronto. Mr Marcu founded the organisation and made it into one of the leading global business NGOs and the voice of business in its field. Mr. Marcu initiated his career in Ontario Hydro, where among other responsibilities, he served as Chief of Staff for the Chairman & CEO.
 
 
Phone: +32 479 66 80 61
Michael Mehling Founding Member & Senior Fellow

Michael Mehling is an Environmental lawyer with a strong background in legal and institutional analysis, complemented by several years of experience working in an interdisciplinary setting. Michael Mehling Deputy Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Professor at the School of Law of the University of Strathclyde. Ample experience working with carbon pricing, market-based instruments and capacity building for environmental reform in developing countries. Extended periods of work experience in emerging economies. Project lead, EU Emissions Trading Outreach to Developing Countries (3 Phases, including “ICAP Summer School”/“EU ETS Summer University”, 2008-2014, budget: EUR 2.9 million); judicial clerk trainee at the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) (2004); Facilitator, World Bank Institute and Partnership for Market Readiness eLearning courses on emissions trading (2013-2017); Co-chair of Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) Scientific Committee (since 2017); Editor-in-chief of the Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR) (since 2007); Contributing Author to the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2012-2014); more than 100 publications, including numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as editor of and contributor to two relevant volumes: Emissions Trading in Practice: A Handbook on Design and Implementation (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1st ed. 2016; 2nd ed. 2021); and Improving the Clean Development Mechanism: Options and Challenges Post-2012 (Berlin: Lexxion, 2011). Lead author of World Bank Partnership for Market Implementation technical report on “Governance of Emissions Trading Systems” (forthcoming 2021). 

Tomasz Chruszczow Founding Member & Senior Fellow

Tomasz Chruszczow is an experienced High Level Official and diplomat. He has been active in the field of environmental protection for more than 30 years, with a special focus on climate change, industrial emissions and waste management. He is also an expert in international environmental policies and a Member of the Polish National Committee for Environmental Impact Assessment.

Tomasz, served in Polish and European industry organisations as a representative of Polish glass manufacturers, including as the Vice President of CPIV – Standing Committee of European Glass Industries. Other experiences include: Delegate to the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) in the European Economic and Social Committee, implementation of the IPPC and EU ETS directives in Poland, Chair of the Technical Working Groups in Polish IPPC Centre and Poland’s delegate to the European IPPC Bureau.

In the international realm, Tomasz has been the EU lead climate negotiator and Head of Polish delegation at UN Climate Conferences, Chair of the EU WPIEI Climate Change during Polish EU Council Presidency, High-Level Climate Champion and chair of UNFCCC global negotiations, Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation – SBI as well as the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice – SBSTA, Member of the UN Adaptation Committee 2012-2015, negotiating on behalf of the EU final provisions of the Paris Agreement on forestry during Paris COP21. Tomasz graduated from the Technical University of Warsaw.

Email:tomasz.chruszczow@gmail.com

Aaron Cosbey Senior Fellow
Aaron Cosbey is a development economist with over 25 years’ experience in the law and economics of sustainable development, particularly in the areas of trade and climate change, with current work centering on climate change, green industrial policy, and the mining sector.
 
Next to being a Senior Fellow at ERCST, he is a Senior Associate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an Advisor to the Inter-Governmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), a member of the ICTSD E15 Expert Group on Clean Energy and the Multilateral Trading System, and a member of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform Research Committee on Trade and Competitiveness. He serves on Global Affairs Canada’s Environmental Assessment Advisory Group. He has consulted to a wide variety of governments and institutions, including the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), Centre for European Policy Studies, CIDA, Commonwealth Secretariat, Environment Canada, European University Institute, IADB, Canada’s National Round Table on Environment and Economy, North American CEC, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNFCCC and the World Bank.
 
Aaron was project lead on IISD’s Development Dividend Project, which assessed the CDM’s ability to deliver sustainable development benefits to host countries. He was a project lead partner for CEPS’ Climate for Sustainable Growth Project, which assessed the economic, environmental and social impacts of a series of climate-related policies in different case studies. He served as Special Advisor to UNCTAD on Climate, Green Economy and Economic Diversification. He was the leader of a global multi-stakeholder multi-year Swedish-funded effort to elaborate best practice and pitfalls in the area of border carbon adjustment. He has been contracted to advise a number of governments on sustainable investment and trade policies, including Sri Lanka, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso.
 
Natalie Kushko Senior Fellow

Natalie Kushko is a senior sustainable low emission economic development, climate change, and international carbon markets expert with over 20 years of experience in inter-governmental UNFCCC negotiation, extensive on-ground experience on UNFCCC flexible mechanisms, climate change policy-making and implementation on international and national levels, as well as regional level in emerging markets of Eurasia region. Furthermore, she has over 10 years of extensive professional experience working with international development cooperation projects (EBRD, GIZ, UNDP, USAID, among others). Ms. Kushko currently is a Team Leader of national and international experts and firms supporting the GoU on second Ukrainian NDC development under Paris Agreement EBRD, also providing international legal expertise and, planning and supervising transparent and inclusive stakeholders’ consultation process for over two years on second NDC development process. She served as Team Lead of UNDP project providing support to Ukrainian Parliament on sustainable energy and environment issues.

Earlier, Ms. Kushko managed Ukrainian 2050 Low Emission Development Strategy development process under Paris Agreement, including transparent and inclusive stakeholders consultation process and drafting the Strategy policy document as a Task Leader on LEDS under USAID Project for over 36 months on developing the Strategy as the very first transparent and inclusive stakeholders’ consultation process introducing best international practices for such process; she also provided support to the GoU on national climate change and low emission development policy-making;  she was a management team member of multi-million project and managed national and international sub-contractors. She managed the process of national climate change legislation development and adoption process by the GoU, namely – State Climate Change Policy Concept till 2030 and its Action Plan. She also served as an Advisor to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine on climate change issues, including UNFCCC negotiation process, national climate change and low emission policy making and climate change cross-sectoral inter-ministerial coordination. Ms. Kushko serves as member/alternative member of UNFCCC CDM Executive Board since 2012.

Previously, she served as Advisor on climate change and sustainable development to various GoU officials, local authorities, including Head of State Environmental Investment Agency, Lviv City Mayor and Parliament Members. Before that, Ms. Kushko has been working for the world leading carbon aggregator Ecosecurities Group Plc as Ukraine Country Coordinator/Origination Team dealing with JI projects identification, development and implementation support in Eurasia region. Ms. Kushko also served as Eurasia Coordination sustainable development program’s Executive Director of Ukraine’s National Accounting NGO as a part of USAID project on Sustainable Business Development. She worked as Senior Agribusiness Expert with the EU TACIS project developing first agribusiness supply chains in Ukraine and managed private business entities

Bill Thompson Senior Fellow

Bill Thompson joined ERCST as a Senior Fellow in January 2022. Bill is currently Co-Chair of the UK Emission Trading Group’s ETS Workgroup. The WG comprises UK major ETS emitters, relevant UK Trade Associations, Verifiers, Traders and Accreditation Authorities. UK Government Ministries BEIS and HM Treasury also participate alongside regulators from the UK Devolved Authorities and the UK Environment Agency.

Bill was previously Director Climate & Energy Policy – Europe for the BP plc Group Policy Team. He has extensive regulatory experience from having worked and lived in Brussels for five years. He also served as a representative on relevant climate & energy in Fuels Europe, CEFIC, Business Europe, CONCAWE, IETA and IOGP. He has extensive operational and regulatory experience of the EU ETS and the UK ETS and their evolution as well as of the UNFCCC Kyoto & Paris Climate Agreements.

A Graduate of Aston University’s Management School, Bill worked in procurement at British Steel, gaining his Membership of Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, before joining BP Oil UK. He is also a Fellow of the UK Emissions Trading Group.

email: billthompson8921@gmail.com

Olivier Imbault Senior Fellow
Before joining ERCST as Senior Fellow, Olivier Imbault chaired the BusinessEurope Working Group Energy & Climate for more than six years, since 2015. Olivier has developed a broad experience in EU regulations and leadership role in the European debates on energy transition, climate change and sustainable development. He brought with him a more than forty years’ experience in the Industry and energy sectors after a long career in Air Liquide, where he was successively CEO of the Italian subsidiaries, Vice President of the Mediterranean and African Zone and Vice President Europe Energy and Industry affairs. Olivier holds an engineering degree from Ecole Centrale Lyon and an MBA from INSEAD Young Manager Program. In Air Liquide Italy, Olivier has been especially active with his team in the development of energy and hydrogen solutions for industry based on highly efficient cogenerations, high environmental processes and new technologies such as small electrolysers. In the same period, Olivier has acted as representative of the Chemical Industry in the development of the Italian energy market as President of the Italian Chemical Industry Energy Committee and Member of Confindustria. At the European level, Olivier has been fully involved in the development of the new European Carbon market, as Chairman of the European Industrial Gases Regulatory Council (EIGA), and implementation of the EU ETS in Air Liquide with the creation of a new entity focused on energy and environmental commodities management aiming, among others, at supporting the decarbonization of the Air Liquide activities. In recent years, in his role of member of the MEDEF Energy and Climate Change Committee and Chairman of the BusinessEurope Working Group Energy & Climate, Olivier has been instrumental in all the discussions on Climate Change and Energy Transition between the Commission and the European Industry.
Jean-Yves Caneill Senior Fellow

Dr. Jean-Yves Caneill holds an engineering degree from ENSTA and completed his PhD at University Paris VI in 1979, after which he joined Electricité de France (EDF), where he was responsible of climate change issues. In EDF, Jean-Yves launched the first project devoted to the climate issue in 1990. In 1995, he started to get involved in the international process on tackling climate change and became strongly involved in the EU developments related to the design of the Emission Trading Directive, focussing on the economic consequences of the carbon constraint for the management of power generation units.

Later, he moved to the corporate level of EDF Group, where he became Head of Climate Policy. He has been strongly involved in the European and international debate on climate issues, attending the climate negotiation conferences under the Eurelectric banner. In 2007/2008 he prepared a climate change mitigation strategy, which was adopted in 2008. Later on, he coordinated the action of the Group on climate change adaptation and resilience issues and prepared the relevant strategy which was adopted in 2011.

From 2007 to 2017 he has been piloting a committee created to follow and decide relevant R&D issues linked with climate change adaptation and resilience issues (extreme events, water modelling issues, climate change projections, etc..). He continued to work on this issue when EU Commission developed its own climate change adaptation strategy together with Member States. In particular, he was nominated to represent the private sector (Business Europe) in the stakeholder consultation working group set up by the EU EC to prepare this strategy, which was adopted by the EU in 2013.

He has also been strongly involved in dialogues with EGTT, TNA, TEC and CTCN process (UNFCCC) through WBCSD and ICC. He was a member of the CTCN Advisory Board for two mandates, where he represented the private sector. Additionally, he is also involved in various collaborations with MIT, CEPS, and IDDRI. Dr. J.Y. Caneill joined ERCST in 2018 as Senior Fellow, where he works on EU and international issues related to climate change policy. He is also IETA Fellow.

Email: jycaneill@ercst.org

Darren Newman Senior Advisor

Darren joined the ERCST in April 2023 to work on the Mobility workstream and particularly on decarbonization of heavy-duty road transport.

He has more than 30 years of experience in Commercial Vehicles, working for global manufacturers. He has gained extensive experience in product development, vehicle sales, and asset finance. Having spent much of his career putting diesel-powered vehicles into Haulage and Logistics fleets and more recently alternative fuel vehicles, he now focuses on helping operators and buyers of commercial transport solutions to work towards decarbonizing their operations.

Speaking the language and understanding the complexities and pressures of road transport enables him to provide practical and workable solutions. Working at all levels within a customer’s businesses, from the board room to the transport yard, helps him to deliver solutions that are minimally disruptive to service levels and with a clear view of cost and operational implications.

He has a large resource of industry contacts including large fleet operators and family-run businesses, vehicle manufacturers and dealers, vehicle bodybuilders and converters, and fuel providers. He is an active member of Zemo Partnership and The Renewable Fuels Transport Association – working with other industry professionals and the public sector to promote best practice and produce recommendations to the government on future transport policy.

Pauline Nouallet Senior Policy Analyst

Pauline joined ERCST in 2022 as a Senior Policy Analyst. She focuses on economic and climate change policies at the European and international levels, including carbon pricing and border carbon adjustments.
She has 8 years of professional experience in policy research and analysis, with a focus on energy, climate and the environment. She has strong experience in conducting impact assessment and evaluation of public policies, as well as producing and appraising business cases of public infrastructure projects. Prior to ERCST, this experience has been gained through working in consultancy, non-departmental public body as well as in research institutes.
Pauline holds an MSc degree in Environmental, Energy, and Climate Change Economics from AgroParisTech, as well as a certificate in Impact Evaluation of Policies and Programmes from the United Nations University (UNU-Merit).

Email: pnouallet@ercst.org
Phone: +32 469 12 62 25

Alexandra Maratou Senior Policy Analyst 

Alexandra joined ERCST in 2020 as a Senior Policy Analyst. She focuses on economic and climate change policies at the European and international levels, including carbon pricing and border carbon adjustments.

She has 12 years of professional experience in policy research and analysis, with a focus on energy, climate and the environment. Prior to ERCST, she worked for consultancy COWI, where she conducted studies on behalf of the European Commission and other public sector clients. She has extensive experience in the area of fluorinated greenhouse gas policies and alternatives, both at the EU-level and in the context of international UN negotiations under the Montreal Protocol. In the outset of her career, she worked as a research assistant at Cambridge University’s Electricity Policy Research Group, where she inter alia conducted research on low-carbon electricity generation technologies, and innovation.

Alexandra holds an MSc degree in Environmental and Resource Economics from University College London, as well as a BA degree in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Email: amaratou@ercst.org
Phone: +32 468 203 390

Juan Fernando López Manager & Senior Policy Analyst

Juan is an economist specialised in EU Climate Policy and has recently joined ERCST as Manager & Senior Policy Analyst. Prior to ERCST, Juan worked as an Adviser in Climate Change & Energy at the European Industrial Minerals Association focusing on the EU ETS and other files such as CBAM, ETD and the RED and sustainable finance.

Beforehand he was a trainee at the European Commission, where he contributed to the European Commission proposal for an EU Multiannual Financial Framework, and Climate Mainstreaming co-chaired by DG CLIMA.

With a solid academic background and previous management work experience at university, he holds a University Degree in Economics and a Masters Degree in European Studies from the University of Sevilla. In 2017 he obtained a Masters Degree in Economics of the EU at the College of Europe in Bruges, with a specialisation in European Public Policy Analysis. In 2019, he was invited by the European University Institute to present his master thesis on “The impact of political announcements on the EU ETS”, at the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) Climate Annual Conference.

Email: jlopez@ercst.org

Antonio Fernandez Policy Analyst

Antonio joined ERCST in early 2021 as a Policy Analyst. He focuses on energy and climate policy developments with a particular focus on the Hydrogen economy and the New Green Deal.

Previous to joining ERCST Antonio gained valuable professional experience in the fields of energy and environment, international trade and banking in 4 different EU countries, working for renowned private and public organisations such as the British Parliament, the Spanish Embassy in Berlin, Santander Bank or Iberdrola.

Antonio is a fully qualified lawyer that holds a M.B.A. from ICEX-CECO, with focus on international trade, a LL.M. in European Business, Competition and Regulatory Law from FU Berlin, as well as a Master in Professional Development from University of Alcalá in Madrid.

Email: afernandez@ercst.org
Phone: +32 468 203 275

Sara Svensson Policy Analyst

Sara Svensson joined ERCST as a Policy Analyst in 2023. She recently worked at the European Parliament’s research service on climate action, focusing on the EU’s efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy. Prior to moving to Brussels, Sara has experience from working with the electricity and heating markets in Sweden. Sara holds a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from Lund University in Sweden and wrote her thesis within econometrics on the use of panel methods within the energy intensity literature.

Email: ssvensson@ercst.org

Phone number: + 32 469 16 35 73

Elena Bonfiglio Policy Analyst

Elena joined ERCST in 2022 as a Policy Analyst. She works on climate change policy both at the European and international levels, with a focus on negotiations related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and CCS-U technology.

Previously, she worked as a Finance Assistant for the European Environmental Bureau in Brussels and did internships as a Junior Consultant at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Bonn and as a ESG expert at Ecomate in Milan.

Elena holds a double degree in Economics and international Policies from Università della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland) and Graduate School ASERI (Italy) with a thesis on a comparative analysis of cap-and-trade systems implemented worldwide.

Email: ebonfiglio@ercst.org
Phone: +32 469 13 16 67

Ana Ruiz Policy Analyst

Ana joined ERCST as a Policy Analyst in 2023. She recently worked as an Advisor to the Portuguese Minister for the Environment and Climate Action and to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, analysing and advising on climate related topics, legislation and regulations, within the international, european and national context.

Beforehand Ana worked in Lisbon as a qualified lawyer in the fields of civil and commercial litigation, corporate, energy, real estate, urban planning and environmental law.

Ana holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Global Environmental Law and Governance from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow) with a dissertation  on the ‘Interpretation and Application of the Paris Agreement ‘Best-Available-Science’ standard: Compliance Mechanisms in MEA vis-à-vis International Courts and Tribunals”, and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Lisbon.

E-mail: aruiz@ercst.org

Gabriele Romeo Junior Researcher

Gabriele Romeo joined ERCST in March 2023 as a Junior Researcher. He is working in the hydrogen workstream, where he follows the molecule’s policy and market developments. Previously, he assisted the 2023 State of the EU ETS Report’s publication.

Gabriele worked at the intersection between Economics, Energy, and Environmental Policies in different setups. As an intern at Enel, he supported the assessment of sectoral dynamics within the European Affairs unit. At the under-30 think tank Orizzonti Politici, he leads the Research team and participates to the Energy and Environment’s team policy-oriented analyses. He represented Italy at the 2021 and 2022 pre-COP Global Conference of Youth in Glasgow and Sharm El-Sheikh. He is part of the UNECE Resource Management Young Member Group.

He studied Economic History at The University of Edinburgh and will pursue his post-graduate education at the Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs.

Email: gromeo@ercst.org

Anna Nosichenko Finance Assistant

Anna joined ERCST in February 2023. She holds a Master degree in Computer Engineering (Tashkent State Technical University, Uzbekistan). Since 1996, Anna has worked on several projects funded by the European Commission in the energy sector of Uzbekistan. In 2000 she has joined the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels where she worked during 20 years as Assistant to the Deputy Secretary General and as a Financial Controller of the EU4Energy Project. She has solid knowledge of project planning, launch and implementation; projects budget and financial reporting, procurement, payroll for local and international experts, coordination with local ministries and experts in the countries of the project, missions’ logistics and reporting, organisation of trainings and events.

With her long-term experience in an international and multicultural environment, practical experience in the wide range of administrative tasks, vivid communication, presentation and networking abilities, she is providing information to the ERCST members and partners and support to the ERCST Executive Director.

Email: anosichenko@ercst.org

Phone number: +32 468 232 685

Chiara Cavallera Junior Policy Analyst

Chiara Cavallera joined ERCST in early 2024 as a Junior Policy Analyst. She focuses on energy and climate policy developments with a particular focus on Hydrogen and the European Green Deal. Before joining the team, she gained experience in energy and climate topics working in Public Affairs consultancies and at the European Energy Forum in Brussels. Chiara holds a Master’s degree in International Relations – European studies from the University of Turin, Italy. Her dissertation, titled “The Energy Policy of the European Union,” analysed the EU legislative framework, historical tendencies, and the latest developments in light of the energy crisis. While she was completing her studies, she did internships at the Turin Chamber of Commerce and at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union, where she worked in the Competitiveness and Growth office, focusing on energy topics.

Email: ccavallera@ercst.org 

Antoine Blot Communication Officer

Antoine joined ERCST as a Communication Officer in November 2023.

Prior to ERCST, he worked as a Communication Assistant at both CO2 Value Europe and the European Committee of the Regions and was a volunteer with the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

Antoine holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s in European Studies from the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Email: ablot@ercst.org
Phone: +32 468 31 55 14

Climate Policy Priorities for the Next European Commission