ICREA Research Professor, Institute of Environmental Science & Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). Honorary Professor of Environmental & Resource Economics, School of Economics & Business and Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA). Head of the research group Environmental & Climate Economics at ICTA-UAB. Previously Professor of Environmental Economics (1997-2007) at VUA, and editor-in-chief of the journal 'Environmental Innovation & Societal Transitions' (2011-2021). He holds a Master degree in Econometrics & Operations Research from Tilburg University, and a PhD from VUA. He was awarded the Shell Sustainability Research Prize 2002, IEC's ("Sant Jordi") Environmental Prize 2011, two ERC Advanced Grants (2017 & 2023), and an honorary doctorate from the Netherlands’ Open University (2019). His latest book is 'Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture: Evolutionary Social, Environmental and Policy Sciences' (Cambridge Univ. Press).
Research interests
Working on the interface of environmental economics, climate-policy research, and innovation studies. Research in recent years focuses on effectiveness and public support of climate policy. This accounts for undesirable systemic impacts, such as energy rebound and carbon leakage, and the role of dynamic climate clubs of countries. It makes use of methods and insights from behavioural and evolutionary economics, operationalized through agent-based modelling, questionnaire surveys and online experiments. Past work covered integrated ecological-economic modelling, contributions to the growth-versus-environment debate, environmental policies applied to urban-transport issues, biodiversity valuation and policy, circular economy and recycling, and international aspects of environmental policy.
Selected publications
- van den Bergh J 2023, 'Climate policy versus growth concerns: Suggestions for economic research and communication'. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 107, 102125.
- van den Bergh J & Savin I 2023, 'Political leadership, climate policy and renewable energy', PNAS 120 (14), e230129112.
- van den Bergh J, van Beers C & King LC 2023, 'Climate activists - rethink fossil-fuel subsidy cuts', Nature 617, 465.
- Walker, B., ... J. van den Bergh, et al. (2023). Response diversity as a sustainability strategy, Nature Sustainability 6, 621–629.
- van den Bergh J & Savin I 2023, 'The role of interest in the unsustainability of growth: analytical findings using an accounting model', Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 19(1), 2262830.
- Castro-Santa J, Drews S & van den Bergh J 2023, 'Low-carbon consumption through advertising and social norms', Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 102, 101956.
- Drews S & van den Bergh J 2023, 'Behavioral interventions for climate mitigation in developing countries: Overview and prospects', Journal of Environment and Development, 32, 3, 223 - 242.
Selected research activities
Invitation with two other experts for a 3-hour round-table discussion about Dutch climate policy with Members of Parliament of The Netherlands (19 Jan. 2023).