PhD Position Modelling and analysing the impacts of trade on the environment

at  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

YOUR FUNCTION

Trade plays a significant role in both driving and preventing emissions, climate change, and environmental degradation. On the one hand, production, transportation, and consumption of goods contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. On the other hand, globalization and trade may prevent further land use change by concentrating production on the locations with the highest production. The integration of trade policies with environmental sustainability is crucial to mitigating potential negative impacts of trade and globalisation, fostering more responsible practices that protect ecosystems and reduce environmental degradation.
This research is part of the Horizon Europe ENhanced understanding of Trade Impacts on Climate, industries, and the Environment (ENTICE) project. ENTICE aims to develop novel data and modelling capacity to enhance our knowledge and inform policymakers on the positive and negative impacts of trade and trade policy on climate and the environment. The project will focus on emissions and climate change issues but also integrate the broader effects on the environment, biodiversity, pollution, and natural resources depletion.

• You will conduct cutting-edge research on the impact of trade on land use changes and the environment.
• You will enhance the land use model GLOBIOM and links with macro-economic models to better capture impacts of trade between regions on the land use sector and the environment.
• You will process data, analyze results and implement a range of scenarios on more sustainable trade agreements.
• You will carry out case-studies, mixing quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the impact on land use changes and the environment at a more fine-grained level.