Dr. Selam Abebe

Biography

Selam Kidane Abebe is a Senior Research Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, focusing on Net Zero Law within the Oxford Net Zero Programme. She is a member of the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, where her research centers on the design of legal frameworks to implement net zero commitments and the complexities of net zero governance in both domestic and international law. Selam has extensive experience in multilateral environmental agreements, having led legal negotiations for the African Group during the Paris Agreement discussions. She serves as a legal advisor to the African Group Negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is a member of the Article 15 Committee of the Paris Agreement, which promotes compliance with the Agreement. Additionally, she advises the African constituency Board Members of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Selam previously worked with the Ethiopian Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forest, where she directed the environmental law and policy department and contributed to developing environmental legislation and climate strategies for the country. She holds a PhD in Law from the University of Reading as a Leverhulme Scholar with a focus on climate justice.

Research Interests