Various departments of the university have worked on developing the institution’s environmental policy plan: het Milieubeleidsplan Universiteit Leiden 2016-2020.

Social and Behavioural Sciences, Political Science

Using the principles of Industrial Ecology in Environmental Policy making in two cases: transition to a hydrogen economy and chlorinated compounds.

On 26 and 27 May 2017, Richard Jiang, PhD candidate at the Europa Institute, participated as a speaker in the ninth annual meeting of the Society for Environmental Law and Economics at Worcester College, University of Oxford.

Principles of Environmental Sciences provides a comprehensive picture of the principles, concepts and methods that are applicable to problems originating from the interaction between the living and non-living environment and mankind. Both the analysis of such problems and the way solutions to environmental…

The walls of Paul van der Velde’s study at the International Institute for Asian Studies are full of neat rows of post-it notes. As organiser in chief, he is right in the middle of the upcoming ICAS 11, the 11th International Convention of Asia Scholars, which is returning to where it was first held…

What does it mean to do public policy ethics today? How should philosophers engage with ethical issues in policy-making when policy decisions are circumscribed by political and pragmatic concerns? How do ethical issues in public policy differ between areas such as foreign policy, criminal justice, or…

Evaluating the environmental consequences of diet changes in the European Union.

PRINCE (for Policy Relevant Indicators for Consumption and Environment) was a three-year project set up to explore ways to improve and expand the set of indicators used to estimate the environmental impacts linked to Swedish consumption, both within Sweden and abroad. Any new methods and indicators…

This research programme aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services to facilitate strategic management of natural resources. To this end, we address urgent challenges in relation to the mechanisms involved…

PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

The project’s overall goal is to improve Indonesia’s environmental legal framework and its implementation by strengthening the regulatory capacity of the government, and by enhancing the capacity of CSOs and scholars to hold the government accountable for its regulatory performance.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: R. Heijungs

In the absence of stringent and coordinated international action, States might seek alternatives to promote environmental protection unilaterally.

Promotor: W.T. de Groot

Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. If we want to maintain our current standard of living, we will need inventive solutions. The researchers at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) share their thoughts on how to achieve a fully circular economy in which as little use as possible…

There is an increasing amount of attention on EU and its Member States contributions to implementation of two landmark agreements: the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Agenda 2030 with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Absent from the current literature is an analysis of the political effect of…

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

CML is an institute of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University.

What is the best way to combine the environmental and economic data and how can we create an operational system to do so, thereby supporting the delivery of data to the Data centres on Products and Resources?

Analytical tools for environmental design and management in a systems perspective. The combined use of analytical tools.

Development of indicators to assess decoupling of economic development and environmental pressure in the EU-25 and AC-3 countries.

This project aims to explore the environmental impact of early Roman expansion (4th/3rd century BC) through a program of dating and ecological sampling of traces of field systems (centuriations).

Ideology and Actions

The state of our environment is a global concern. Despite an increasing awareness, setting internationally binding and ambitious commitments has proven to be a very difficult process. Can unilateral trade measures form an alternative and contribute to global environmental protection?

The majority (80%) of e-waste generated globally are recycled informally in developing countries.

To limit the effects of climate change, global average temperature since pre-industrial measurements are to be kept well below 2 °C preferably even at 1.5 °C.

They were called 'annoying brats', the group of campaigning scientists who in 1978 founded what is now an internationally acclaimed ecological research institute. Their stories and those of the current staff of the Institute of Environmental Sciences are described in the book 'Forty years of Leiden…

Promotores: E. van Dijk, G.R. de Snoo. Co-promotor: H. Staats

Identification of the products or product groups that have the greatest environmental impact from a life-cycle perspective using environmentally extended input-output analysis.

Mission: The Environmental Biology department aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through this understanding they facilitate strategic management of natural resources by addressing urgent challenges…

Since its inception, the Honours Academy has been a ‘testing ground’ for innovative education. An important and related policy focus is sharing the acquired knowledge, so that the benefits gained from this testing ground can also be applied in other places. A third focus area is inclusiveness, given…

How to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of circularity transition at macro-scale?

Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, and Ishani Mukherjee researched the topic of 'Behavioural Insights Teams (BITs) and Policy Change: An Exploration of Impact, Location, and Temporality of Policy Advice'.

Does knowledge of environmental performance change farmer's behaviour?

On dinsdag 26 juni 2018, Linlin Sun defended her doctoral thesis ‘International Environmental Obligations and Liabilities in Deep Seabed Mining’. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. N.J. Schrijver en Prof. dr. E.C.P.D.C. De Brabandere.

Environmental Humanities in the New Himalayas: Symbiotic Indigeneity, Commoning, Sustainability showcases how the eco-geological creativity of the earth is integrally woven into the landforms, cultures, and cosmovisions of modern Himalayan communities.

CREEA is a FP7 project on compiling and refining environmental and economic accounts. The project runs from April 2011 to March 2014.

On 19 juni 2018 Matthew Gillett defended his doctoral thesis ‘Prosecuting environmental harm before the international criminal court’. His supervisor is prof. dr. L.J. van den Herik.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.K. Richardson, Co-Promotor: F. Witte

This socio-legal research focuses on the impacts of environmental displacement on land rights and land-related conflict in Mozambique in the aftermath of cyclone Idai, and on the role of the legal framework in addressing these problems.

Review of new technical decisionsupport systems in the environmental field, and application in water management decission processes.

Development of scenarios for 2050 detailed in an IO framework

Acidobacteria is a widely distributed phylum but their functional roles in ecosystem processes are still largely elusive.

What performance criteria does a new technology have to fulfill in order to be added to the list of future energy options and what constraints exist in terms of broad market penetration?