PhD: Integrated Assessment Modelling of Climate Feedbacks, Tipping Points

Join the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University for a PhD position within the EMBRACER project, focusing on the role of climate feedbacks, tipping points, and uncertainties in integrated assessment models (IAMs). You will work on improving the understanding and modelling of these processes to support robust and adaptive climate policy strategies.

Your job
Climate change is driven in part by complex feedback mechanisms within both natural and human systems. Some of these feedbacks can lead to so-called tipping points: critical thresholds beyond which the climate system may shift abruptly and potentially irreversibly. These processes are not yet fully integrated into the analysis of integrated assessment models (IAMs), which are used to support policymakers in designing effective climate strategies.

In this PhD project, you will work on improving the representation of feedbacks, tipping points, and extreme events in the MIMOSA model, a flexible IAM that links climate dynamics with socio-economic processes. You will develop an inventory of critical feedbacks, translate them into model representations, and conduct uncertainty analyses to evaluate their impact on cost-effective climate pathways. You will also explore the expansion of MIMOSA with a simplified energy system module and investigate linkages with the more detailed IMAGE model.

The project is embedded in the broader EMBRACER programme, which aims to advance our understanding of climate feedbacks. You will therefore collaborate with colleagues in climate science, systems modelling, and policy analysis.

You bring the following qualifications:

• a Master’s degree in physics, environmental sciences, mathematics, systems science, computational science, or a related field;
• strong skills in scientific programming and quantitative analysis, preferably in python;
• affinity with climate science and/or policy modelling;
• excellent written and verbal communication skills in English;
• independence, eagerness to learn, and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.

• A position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3,059 and €3,881 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The position is embedded at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, in the Environmental Sciences group. The Copernicus Institute is the scientific institute for sustainability research and teaching of Utrecht University. The mission of the Environmental Sciences group is to understand the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and global environmental change.

At EMBRACER we work at the very frontiers of knowledge on climate change, Earth’s climate system and climate feedbacks. Within its 10-year research programme, funded by NWO, EMBRACER brings together a wide range of world-leading climate experts with the aim to address existing uncertainties about climate feedbacks at the boundaries between oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere. Our interdisciplinary approach and state-of-the-art infrastructure will bring us forward in our understanding of the impact of climate feedbacks emerging over the next decades to centuries.

For more information, please contact Prof. Dr Detlef van Vuuren at d.p.vanvuuren@uu.nl or Dr Kaj-Ivar van der Wijst at k.vanderwijst@uu.nl.

Do you have a question about the application procedure? Please send an email to Sophie Ketting at s.j.ketting@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.