Michel den Elzen works part-time as professor of International Climate Policy and Mitigation of Climate Change at the at the Department of Environmental Economics, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam. The professor position is established as part of the strategic partnership between PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and VU Amsterdam in the field of environmental sciences. Michel den Elzen is senior climate policy analyst at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
Den Elzen has led several studies related to international climate policy and climate mitigation. He coordinates and leads climate policy research that provides analytical support to the European Commission DG CLIMA for the climate negotiations and international climate policy. His main research interests are international climate policy, climate mitigation strategies, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and low carbon strategies and integrated assessment modelling. Den Elzen is contributing author of the IPCC Sixth Working Group III report. He was lead author of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, and contributing author of the IPCC Special Report Global warming of 1.5 degree and the IPCC Third and Fourth Assessment working Group III Reports. He was lead author of all twelve UNEP emissions gap reports 2010 to 2021 of two Chapters on the assessment of countries’ progress towards NDCs and the emissions gap.
Michel den Elzen holds a PhD from the Maastricht University, the Netherlands, for his thesis on Global environmental change: an integrated modelling approach. He holds a MSc mathematics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam at the Faculty of Mathematics. He regularly publishes in scientific journals including Nature, Nature Climate Change, Nature Communication, Climatic Change, Energy Policy and Climate Policy. He is author of more than 115 refereed journal articles, about 140 technical reports and many book sections. He is also a member of the editorial board of the international journal Environmental Science & Policy.
Expertise
International climate policy analysis, mitigation or climate change, integrated assessment modelling, mitigation scenarios, Nationally Determined Contributions, national regimes for differentiation of commitments.
