Prof. John Hay ima preko trideset pet godina iskustva u akademskoj zajednici, privatnom sektoru i državnim organizacijama. Njegov rad je fokusiran na interdisciplinarnom pristupu znanosti o okolišu te tehničkim i političkim relevantnim procjenama i smjernicama, posebno u odnosu na klimatske varijabilnosti i promjene. Kao glavni autor za Međuvladin panel o klimatskim promjenama (IPCC), John hay je bio dobitnik Nobelove nagrade za mir 2007, nagrađen zajednički IPCC i Al Gore u 2007. John je koautor knjige Turizam i klimatske promjene: Rizici i prilike. Nastavak, Klimatske promjene i turizam: od politike do prakse, objavljen je u lipnju 2012. Također je dobitnik prestižne nagrade Guggenheim Foundation. Gostujući je profesor na Sveučilištu Ibaraki, Japan, i profesor na Lincoln Sveučilištu u Novom Zelandu i Sveučilištu u Južnom Pacifiku. Radi kao konzultant i savjetnik brojnih nacionalnih vlada i regionalnih i međunarodnih organizacija, uključujući organizaciju Ujedinjenih naroda za razvoj (UNDP), Svjetskae banke (WB), Azijske razvojne banke (ADB), Ujedinjenih naroda za okoliš (UNEP), Organizacija za hranu i poljoprivredu (FAO) i Pacifik Regionalni Okoliš Program (SPREP).
John has over thirty five years experience in academia, the private sector and governmental organisations. His work has focused on bringing an interdisciplinary approach to the environmental sciences and to technical and policy-relevant assessments and guidance, especially in relation to climate variability and change. John is a firm believer in Paul
Hawken’s assertion, "If you look at the science about what is happening on Earth, and aren'tpessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working torestore this Earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got apulse."
As a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), John was a recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded jointly to the IPCC and Al Gore. In 2007 John co-authored the book Tourism and Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities. The sequel, Climate Change and Tourism: From Policy to Practice, was published in June, 2012.
John is also a recipient of a prestigious fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. He is Visiting Professor at Ibaraki University, Japan, and an Adjunct Professor at both Lincoln University in New Zealand and the University of the South Pacific, a regional university. He works as a consultant and advisor to many national governments and regional and
international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).