KNAW membership for PBL researcher

In addition to his position as PBL project leader in global sustainability, climate change and energy, Van Vuuren is also Professor of Integrated Assessment of Global Environmental Change at Utrecht University. His work includes the development and analysis of computer models for exploring future changes in climate and the environment, using scenarios and taking into account the interactions between climate, physical environment and economy.

On behalf of PBL, he leads a team of scientists working on IMAGE, the internationally leading integrated assessment model that was the first model in the world to include a detailed scenario for a maximum global temperature increase of 2 °C. Worldwide, this scenario continues to be considered the standard scenario on the 2 °C target. With this scenario, Detlef van Vuuren and his team also contributed to the Paris Climate Agreement.   

Van Vuuren’s work includes the climate scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations. His achievements are outstanding in the international arena, and he regularly publishes new research in leading national and international media, such as his article in Nature Climate Change on the 1.5 °C scenario, on 13 April of this year.

PBL Director-General, Professor Hans Mommaas: ‘PBL is extraordinarily proud of Detlef van Vuuren being awarded the KNAW membership, which is much deserved, and in the Netherlands represents a great tribute to someone’s scientific career.’