The Equity and Justice Research Group at IIASA advances the justice debate in global change research and sustainability science using mixed, systems-based, and participatory methods.
EQU research aims to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by developing and applying conceptual and analytical frameworks for integrating equity and justice into systems analysis. Scientists in EQU bring a valued perspective to major global and local policy issues, including the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, by identifying and co-designing governance reforms and policy options that take account of diverse perceptions of procedural, distributive and compensatory justice.
EQU researchers pioneer innovative mixed methods, with a special focus on the complementarity of qualitative systems approaches to quantitative systems analysis, to mobilise the manifold ideas of justice and governance approaches for complex societal challenges. To bridge the gap between conceptualization and implementation, EQU researchers develop and employ participatory processes that provide a safe space to co-produce options for transformative change. Stakeholder-inclusive research means putting people's lived experience at the center to solve “real policy problems” that our societies face. We aim for systematic and transparent research and to make our processes and output accessible to all.
In our team, we appreciate and harness diversity in views and work styles and we foster an enabling and collaborative work environment. We remain self-reflexive and open-minded. The research group works closely with other IIASA research programs and external partners to position our research activities in a systems analysis framework that reconciles both hard and soft systems methodologies and is grounded in ethics.
Models, tools, datasets
Projects
Staff
News
27 February 2024
Second stakeholder workshop of the fairSTREAM project
08 January 2024
Exploring dimensions of justice in climate science
27 November 2023
EQU Justice Framework Workshop at IIASA
Events
Focus
22 January 2024
Navigating the climate justice landscape
IIASA researchers Caroline Zimm and Kian Mintz-Woo explain the benefits of a recently developed operational framework that aims to bring clarity to the often implicit and varied justice considerations in climate mitigation scenarios, fostering a shared language and understanding to enhance decision-making processes in the intricate landscape of climate policy.
22 November 2023
Effective climate action requires us to abandon viewing our efforts as a ‘sacrifice’
In a world where climate action is often framed as a sacrifice, the authors of this article in The Conversation challenges conventional thinking, offering a fresh perspective that views the transition to renewable energy as a tipping game, and highlighting the potential economic benefits and immediate health improvements associated with such a shift.
Publications
Fu, X. & Zimm, C. (2024). Towards a decent transport for all: The transport dimension of decent living standards for just transitions to net-zero carbon emission. Multimodal Transportation 3 (2) e100136. 10.1016/j.multra.2024.100136. Belfiori, E. & Rezai, A. (2024). Implicit carbon prices: Making do with the taxes we have. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 125 e102950. 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.102950. Yokomatsu, M. & Hori, M. (2024). Dynamic Programming of Firms' Activities and Market Interactions After a Disaster. In: Application of High Performance Computing to Earthquake Related Problems. Eds. Hori, M., pp. 449-478 World Scientific Publishing. 10.1142/q0432. Gaupp, F. & Eker, S. (2024). Climate Activism, Social Media and Behavioural Change: A Literature Review. IIASA Working Paper. Laxenburg, Austria: WP-24-007 Eker, S. , Wilson, C. , Hohne, N., McCaffrey, M., Monasterolo, I., Niamir, L. , & Zimm, C. (2024). Feedbacks and social tipping: A dynamic systems approach to rapid decarbonization. DOI:10.5194/egusphere-egu24-20483. In: EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19 April 2024, Vienna.