Mattijs Smits is an assistant professor at the Environmental Policy Group of Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. He researches and teaches in the fields of (renewable) energy policy and politics, environment, sustainability, (rural) development, and climate finance. During his academic and professional career, he spent extended periods living and working as a researcher and consultant in Southeast Asia, notably in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. He holds degrees from four different universities on three continents: a BSc and MSc from the University of Utrecht and Wageningen University, and PhD degrees from The University of Sydney and Chiang Mai University. He is the author of the book Southeast Asian Energy Transitions: Between Modernity and Sustainability (Ashgate).