Two PhD positions in Climate Finance and Policy in Zürich

100%, Zurich, temporary

A new research group on Climate Finance and Policy will be established in ETH Zurich's Department of Humanities, Social and Political Science in January 2021, led by Bjarne Steffen. We will investigate options for public policy and for private actors to accelerate investments in new low-carbon technologies, particularly in the energy and transport sectors. I am recruiting an interdisciplinary team for the ERC Starting Grant project “GREENFIN – Effective green financial policies for the low-carbon transition”, which will fund several PhD positions.

Mitigating dangerous climate change requires a fundamental transition of global economies. This transition calls for an annual investment of 2–4 trillion USD, which is a multiple of current climate investment. Accordingly, the EU and many countries are enacting green financial policies, intervening in the financial sector to improve financing conditions for low-carbon technologies. Examples include green state investment banks, green finance taxonomies, and changes to lending regulations. However, the effect of these financial policies on investments in non-financial sectors such as energy or transport is largely unknown, and it remains unclear how to make best use of such policies to fill the climate finance gap.

Against this backdrop, the project GREENFIN will combine theory from technology innovation studies and financial economics to derive how different low-carbon technologies require different types of finance, as a starting point for targeted policy interventions. Empirically, novel climate finance datasets will be used, exploiting both structured financial data and unstructured information, drawing on recent advances in machine learning methods (esp. natural language processing). The project aims at delivering specific recommendations for designing more effective green financial policies in the EU and beyond.

The project team foresees several PhD positions. Depending on the position, the research will include empirical analyses (using econometric and machine learning methods), and/or theory-building drawing on interviews with financial institutions. Positions are for up to three years, the salary is in accordance with the Swiss National Science Foundation PhD regulation.

We offer an entrepreneurial research atmosphere within a dynamic team at continental Europe’s leading research university. Candidates will have the opportunity to contribute to the new group’s research agenda and are encouraged to co-advise master’s students. Through close collaboration with ETH’s Energy Politics Group (Prof Tobias Schmidt) and as future member of ETH’s Energy Science Center, our group benefits from frequent interactions with leading scholars in other energy- and policy-related fields. We also contribute to ETH’s Institute of Science, Technology, and Policy (ISTP). Furthermore we collaborate with other national and international academic and policy institutions (e.g., Carnegie Mellon, Mila, MIT, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research). The group will be centrally located in Zurich. The starting date is negotiable, a start in Jan 2021 would however be preferred. Your PhD is expected to be completed within 3 years.

We are looking for candidates conducting a PhD (i.e. a cumulative PhD thesis) as part of the GREENFIN team. Relevant disciplinary fields include, but are not limited to: economics, finance, business administration, industrial engineering, and innovation studies. Interdisciplinary candidates are welcome. You should be dedicated to scientifically rigorous work that at the same time is relevant to policy makers and financial actors. Some experience with quantitative methods is required; knowledge on climate and energy finance, as well as practical experience in the finance sphere would be a bonus. Your working style is team-oriented and you have strong communication skills. You are highly proficient in English; further language skills are an additional asset.

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specialising in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.