Modelling Degrowth Futures to Meet Ambitious Climate Targets in Australia
A PhD position is available in the Sustainability Assessment Program at UNSW Sydney, focusing on climate change and sustainability science.
Project Background and Aims:
The project aims to develop enhanced modelling techniques capable of representing a degrowing economy. It will model the effects of key degrowth policies and find future pathways in which Australia can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to below its net-zero target while improving wellbeing.
This project will build modelling capability and infrastructure to simulate degrowth pathways for Australia, including key degrowth policy feedbacks and dynamics. The student will work with specific models previously developed for Australia, such as the national integrated assessment model (MESSAGEix IAM) and the virtual laboratory-based computable general equilibrium model (IELab CGE).
PhD Opportunity: CGE Modelling of Australian Degrowth Futures to Meet Ambitious Climate Targets
The PhD student will enable IELab's CGE model for degrowth applications and port the CGE model into the MESSAGEix IAM. This involves resolving shortcomings of these CGE models in handling negative values for investment variables that result from declining GDP trajectories.
The student will re-interpret negative investment as stranded assets, insert new technology descriptions, and introduce behavioural constraints linking energy and non-energy demand. Later in the PhD project, the candidate will enhance the multi-sectorial structure of the IELab-CGE model into MESSAGEix and conduct intercomparisons between mono- and multi-sectoral MESSAGEix variants.
Desired Student Skillset:
The PhD candidate should have a solid background in economics, sciences, or engineering with strong experience in computer programming and data management. They should be familiar with or able to learn the IAM's Python code and the Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (https://ielab.info). A first-class Honours or Masters degree is essential.
The student will participate in evaluating scenario outcomes quantitatively, writing scientific publications, and reports, and will collaborate with the project team to disseminate their work through conferences and peer-reviewed journals.
Supervisory Team and Application:
The successful candidate is eligible for a UNSW tax-free stipend of $37,684 per annum for three years or may secure their own primary domestic or international scholarship. A secondary Top-Up scholarship ($5,000) may be available to exceptional applicants.
The PhD candidate will join the Sustainability Assessment Program (SAP) at UNSW, embedded in the Water Research Centre in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Candidates should have the ability to conduct independent research, excellent written and communication skills, and interact regularly with other researchers and project stakeholders.