Central European University Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy

30/09/2026

Congratulations to Masahiro Suzuki, our alumnus of both MESPOM and the PhD Program, presently at Chalmers University of Technology for winning the 2026 ECPR Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance Standing Group Best Paper Prize!

His paper "Renewable ambition outpaces delivery especially after the Paris Agreement", co-authored with Avi Jakhmola and Jessica Jewell (both also alumni of the department), draws on a new dataset of over 1,100 renewable electricity targets set since 1995. It shows that policy ambition has increased over time, but that "more ambitious targets are less credible and yield only moderate delivery, leaving substantial implementation gaps.

He has been recipient of CEU's Best Dissertation Award in 2024 as a PhD graduate. https://www.ceu.edu/article/2024-07-15/research-spotlight-masahiro-suzuki-political-acceleration-energy-transitions

21/09/2026

Energy models shape billion-dollar decisions, but what do they miss?

1st Topical Debate of the department in 2026/27 with PhD & MSc students, faculty and guests.

Dr. Christian Kimmich unpacks where predictive modelling falls short in an interactive session today, 21st September, 13:30-15:10.

Room QS C-323 or Join Zoom Meeting
https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/67365095969?pwd=bgbhoKwMiJqGMe4RGsDZH3qD5DZ66g.1

https://events.ceu.edu/2026-09-21/blind-spots-energy-modelling-topical-debate-environmental-sciences-and-policy-department

Blind Spots in Energy Modelling - Topical Debate of the Environmental Sciences and Policy Department with special guestDebateMonday, September 21, 2026 · 1:30 – 3:10 pmSpeakerDr. Christian KimmichEnergy models shape billion-dollar decisions, but what do they miss?1st Topical Debate of the year 2....

19/09/2026

The premiere of ‘How to live on Earth’ on YouTube is tomorrow, Sept 20, 8 pm!

“It’s time to rethink everything”

11/09/2026

Join CEU's Virtual Open Day on Sept 17, 2026,10:00 –4:30 p.m. CEST
https://www.ceu.edu/admissions/connect/open-day
14:30–14:50 Explore Environmental Sciences and Policy department

Register here: https://ceu.my.salesforce-sites.com/events/targetX_eventsb__events #/esr?eid=a12av000000wXLNAA2

11/09/2026

Admission is open to our programs starting in 2027/28!

1-year MESP Application deadlines:
📌Thursday, October 15, 2026
Applicable to all applicants, with a focus on visa-sensitive candidates, CEU merit- and need-based financial aid available
📌Tuesday, February 2, 2027
CEU merit-based financial aid available
📌Thursday, April 15, 2027
For self-funding applicants
📌Thursday, July 15, 2027
For self-funding applicants with visa-free entry to Austria
https://www.ceu.edu/admissions/master -degree-application-deadlines

2-year Mespom Application deadlines:
📌Tuesday, January 7, 2027 for merit-based financial aid;
📌Thursday, April 15, 2027 & 📌Thursday, July 15, 2027
Deadlines for self-funding MESPOM applicants as above.

4-year PhD program Application deadline:
📌Friday, January 15, 2027
(All dates by 23:59, Central European Time)
https://www.ceu.edu/admissions/doctoral -degree-deadlines

08/09/2026

The first public lecture to kick-off the new academic year is tomorrow by our MESP'2015 Alumnus, Daniel Teodoro, PhD, now Founder and Principal Scientist at DialectiK Social Ecological Intelligence (Delft, Netherlands), who is visiting our department as a guest of Dr. Laszlo Pinter.
September 9, 17:30 CEST, CEU Vienna, Room D-002

From Network Science to Practice: Measuring Collaboration, Communication and Trust in Environmental and Climate GovernanceLectureWed, September 9 · 5:30 – 7:00 pmSpeakerDaniel Teodoro, PhDYou are cordially invited to a public lecture at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy by Dan...

05/08/2026

The real-world performance of over 100 energy-efficient buildings across Austria for years in this recent publication. The results are striking: these buildings consume around 50% less energy than conventional ones.

Diána Ürge-Vorsatz is a professor at our department.

Every heatwave brings another wave of air conditioner installations. But is that really the answer? ☀️

New research co-authored by CEU's Professor Diana Urge-Vorsatz suggests there's a smarter, long-term solution: building better in the first place.

The study, published in Energy Policy Group, evaluated the real-world performance of over 100 energy-efficient buildings across Austria over many years. The findings are striking: these buildings consume around 50% less energy than conventional ones, keep emissions well below Paris Agreement targets, and critically, maintain these results under actual operating conditions, not just in simulations.

As Austria faces increasingly frequent tropical nights and temperatures above 35°C, the implications are clear. Investing in better insulation and high-performance construction could significantly reduce the need for intensive cooling, making climate adaptation far cheaper in the long run.

🔗 Read more about the research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421526000418?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=a26634702dd05afb

Prof. Ürge-Vosatz is open for interview request on relevant topics. Contact our media team under: [email protected]

Photo source: urgevorsatz.org/

22/07/2026

Our students enrolling to our department in Fall with US residency will have the possibility of funding their research/thesis project via the Marshall Fund. Contact us for more details!

CEU is proud to join the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation as a partner university and to contribute to strengthening transatlantic academic exchange between Europe and the United States. 🇦🇹🤝🇺🇸

We look forward to fostering new collaborations, many research opportunities and connections across this dynamic network!

22/07/2026

Our faculty, students and alumni in action!
Message from Dr. Anke Schaffartzik (and added notes in brackets):

"I'm currently at the POLLEN (Political Ecology Network) Conference in Barcelona, where our department is extremely well represented:
Peter Bori (doctoral student, supervisor Alex Antypas/Michael LaBelle) gave an excellent (and very well-received) plenary talk on "An authoritarian 'environmentalism': power concentration and delegitimization in the Green Transition under Hungary's Orbán regime"
and Noemi Gonda (Guntra Aistara's first PhD student, our alumna) asked one of the questions.
Loris Petrini (doctoral student, supervisor Tamara Steger) presented "Towards ‘Subversive Subsistence’: Exploring Insurgent Infrastructures for Food Provision in French Activist Resistance"
Ambika Sairam ("Gendered (Im)Mobilities in Flood-Prone Cities: Mapping geographies of Mobility and Climate Injustice in Hyderabad and Kochi" - doctoral student of Anke Schaffartzik) and Emiliana Reinoso ("Mining in Northern Chile: A Feminist Political Ecology Approach" - Mespom master student) have their presentations this afternoon.
My own talks (on lignite mining in Germany and on global trade patterns for electrification and renewable energy expansion) also went well.

It's the biggest POLLEN conference so far (about 3000 participants) and I've heard from the organizers that there were many more abstracts submitted than could be accepted for presentation, so it really seems worth celebrating that we've been allowed to make all these contributions.
Guntra Aistara and Tamara Steger, thanks so much for your longstanding efforts in political ecology research and teaching at CEU."

24/06/2026

Our department is thrilled to host Dr. Gary Bañuelos, an internationally recognized Plant/Soil Research Scientist, for a presentation on his pioneering work in sustainable agriculture and soil management. Dr. Bañuelos will discuss how nature-based strategies, such as phytoremediation and biofortification, can be used to clean up challenging and adverse environments while simultaneously producing valuable, nutrient-dense agricultural crops.

📅 Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 ⏰ Time: 14:00 – 15:30 📍 Location: CEU Campus, Room B505

Open to the public! Non-CEU guests, please register for campus access here: forms.gle/61RESvbLqWn1nzSz9