Nicholas Vasilakos is a Professor of Sustainable Business Economics and Public Policy at the University of East Anglia. He is also a faculty member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, a faculty member of the Responsible Business Regulation group at Norwich Business School, a member of the International Association for Energy Economics and the British Academy of Management, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.                     

Throughout his career, Nicholas has held numerous prestigious appointments in policy and evaluation committees. In 2024, he was appointed as a Senior Economic and Policy Advisor at the World Energy and Meteorology Council. He was also recently appointed one of the five members of the CARMINE Scientific Advisory Board (European Commission). He has previously served at top research organisations and universities, including the University of Birmingham, King’s College London, and the World Bank.

Nicholas’s research focuses on the intersection of social justice, policy evaluation, net-zero initiatives, and sustainable development. His recent work examines the impacts of regulation and policy frameworks on social welfare and market behaviour; and the effectiveness of policy interventions on climate policies, economic activity, and wealth distribution. His research has been cited by various governmental and intergovernmental organisations, including the US Treasury, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the OECD. Nicholas has published extensively in leading economics and policy journals and received the 2012 Campbell-Watkins Energy Journal Best Paper Award from the International Association of Energy Economics.

Over his career, Nicholas has secured over €20 million in research funding, with about half of it raised in the last six years as both Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator. His research on climate impacts, climate services, and adaptation to climate change is supported by the European Commission via CROSSEU (and SECLI-FIRM before that). Nicholas brings substantial experience in collaborating with industry and government organisations to achieve long-term objectives.

Research funding 

Recent grants include:

• 2024-2026 Horizon Europe: CROSSEU, EUR 5 million. Principal Investigator (Award 101081377) 
• 2024 - 2025 PERANE. Principal Investigator (Award U213870) 
• 2018-2022 Horizon 2020: SECLI-FIRM, EUR 4.6 million. Co-Investigator. (Award 776868).

• February-August 2020 "Consumer attitudes towards Sustainable Business Practices",  Principal Investigator. University of Southampton. £3,584 (R210017)

• September 2019- August 2020 "Defining and managing the green economy in the EU", Co-investigator. £20,589 FAC (R207832)

• September 2015- August 2016 "The Rise of the green economy in Europe: challenges and opportunities". Principal Investigator. £14,450.82 FEC (R200918)

• July - December 2015 "Unclaimed assets in the UK". Principal Investigator. £30,000 FAC (U202289)

Before that, I have been part of several successful European and RCUK consortium and smaller bids, including FP7 projects, EPSRC and Royal Economic Society grants (amongst several others). I am applying actively for research funding and welcome opportunities to explore new collaborations (within and outside the UK). 

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2016 to date). 

I have 20 years of experience in designing, leading and delivering economics and business modules in leading UK universities and abroad. My teaching portfolio includes (among others) the design of modules on  Quantitative Methods for Business, Advanced Microeconometrics, Introductory Econometrics, Microeconomics and Energy Economics.

 I have designed and led a number of executive training programmes on regulation, forecasting and business analysis - aimed at policy-makers and management participants who wish to enhance their analytical and technical skills in economic market analysis and data management.