The Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change is offering a
PhD student position in environmental and climate economics
(project assistant without doctorate)
(30 hours a week; fixed-term employment for the period of three years; position to be filled in the fall of 2026)
Deadline: applications should be received no later than September 30, 2026
The University of Graz Field of Excellence “Climate Change and Sustainable Transition” offers a highly attractive research and teaching environment, with world leading faculty across the relevant disciplines involved from its schools of social sciences and economics, natural sciences, environmental sciences, law, and the humanities. The Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change hosts research groups from these fields, providing a stimulating interdisciplinary research environment.
The successful candidates will work within Wegener Center’s EconClim research group and a project consortium on evaluating the low-carbon and net-zero transformation in a project on circular carbon economy, funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as a lead project. The candidate is expected to complete the doctoral programme (in economics or environmental systems sciences) during the three-year employment period.
Job specification
You will analyze different technological and behavioral climate change mitigation options across various sectors for a comprehensive net-zero circular carbon transition in Austria, transferring experiences with pilot projects with industry to a modelling framework on aggregate, national level. You will work in an interdisciplinary team and in collaboration with stakeholders from government administration, industry and civil society. The scientific contribution includes a macroeconomic impact assessment of the implementation of different options and policies to achieve a net-zero circular carbon economy as well as its distributional and fiscal implications. The field of circular carbon economy is currently forming, with contributions from fields such as political science and engineering inspiring economic research. You will contribute to this development.
Professional qualifications (required)
- Master's degree in either Economics or Environmental Systems Sciences (for the latter with a focus in economics or in sustainability management) or equivalent qualification relevant to the position
- Specialization in environmental economics, ecological economics or transformation studies, demonstrated e.g. by course work or the master’s thesis
- Academic curiosity in environmental economics or a closely related subfield of economics, preferably with initial research experience in climate economics
- Basic knowledge of quantitative and policy-oriented research with a solid theoretical foundation, for example acquired during a master’s thesis
- Basic knowledge of and ideally also experience in general equilibrium modeling (e.g. GAMS, MPS/GE) or input output modeling
- Keen interest in current developments in environmental and climate policy
- Fluency in English
Professional qualifications (desired)
- Keen interest in quantitative scientific work, e.g. in Computable General Equilibrium modeling or in cost-effectiveness analysis
- Interest in design of instruments and institutions for low-carbon transitions
- Interest in environmental technological development or political science
- Basic knowledge of German
Gross salary according to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): for 2026 € 2,832.10 p.m. (30h per week; 14 times a year).
Your application
Please send your application in electronic form to: Prof. Karl Steininger, University of Graz, to the attention of: Dr. Robert Lackner, robert.lackner@uni-graz.at, indicating “EconClim application – PhD student position” in your mail header.
The following documents are required for a complete application:
- Motivation letter (1-2 pages)
- Academic CV including previous work experience and publications
- Official proof of completion of the degree program specified in the job posting
- Transcript of records
- Abstract of the master’s thesis, along with a web link or FTP link to the electronic version of the thesis
- Proof of English or German language proficiency at level C1 or higher (certificate and/or a brief explanatory letter summarizing your experience, if not a native speaker)
- List of two individuals and their contact information who are available as references. Setting and further information
The University of Graz strives to increase the proportion of women in particular in management and faculty positions and therefore encourages qualified women to apply. We offer you a job with individual responsibility and a variety of tasks. You can expect an enjoyable work climate, flexible work hours and numerous possibilities for further education and personal development. Take advantage of the chance to join a challenging and interdisciplinary work environment in Wegener Center full of team spirit and enthusiasm.
For further information please contact:
Karl Steininger (phone: +43 316 380-8441; karl.steininger@uni-graz.at) or
Gabriel Bachner (phone: +43 316 380-8454; gabriel.bachner@uni-graz.at) or
All: University of Graz - Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, Brandhofgasse 5, A-8010
Graz, Austria
