The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Dutch: Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving - abbr. PBL) is a Dutch research institute that advises the Dutch government on environmental policy and regional planning issues. The research fields include sustainable development, energy and climate change, biodiversity, transport, land use, and air quality. It is one of three applied policy research institutes of the Dutch government, the other two being Centraal Planbureau (CPB), and Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP). Since October 2008 Maarten Hajer is director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
The PBL was created on May 15, 2008 by merging the Netherlands Environmental Agency (Dutch: Milieu- en Natuurplanbureau) (MNP) with the Netherlands Institute for Spatial Research (Dutch: Ruimtelijk Planbureau) (RPB). The English name for the new organization was borrowed from the MNP, which was part of the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) until May 1, 2005. It is currently an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM, Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer).
The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is located in Bilthoven and The Hague and employs approximately 300 people.
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