We have a vacancy for a PhD candidate in the Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol) at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering.
The appointment has a duration of three years with an anticipated start date in January 2023. The appointment is financed through the Horizon Europe project “Coproduced transformative knowledge to accelerate change for biodiversity” (RAINFOREST).
The project aims to contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss caused by our global good and biomass production systems. This requires upscaling and accelerating transformative change of these systems, including addressing the nexus of agricultural production, processing and transport, retailing, consumer preferences and diets, as well as investment, climate action and ecosystem conservation and restoration. RAINFOREST will use a novel combination of integrated assessment modeling, input-output modeling and life cycle assessment, based on case studies in various stages of the nexus, at different spatial scales and organizational levels. The aim is to also elucidate leverage points, impacts, and obstacles for transformative change and provide concrete and actionable recommendations for transformative change for consumers, producers, investors, and policymakers. RAINFOREST is a project with partners in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Peru, and Brazil.
The focus of this PhD is the development of a model toolbox for quantifying biodiversity impacts, using both life cycle assessment (e.g. LC-IMPACT) and input-output models (EXIOBASE). The project includes collaboration with the Radboud University in the Netherlands, IIASA in Austria, and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru.
The position’s supervisor is Professor Francesca Verones, the co-supervisor is Professor Edgar Hertwich.