Science into Policy

The institute's latest research in a concise format for policymakers.

20 October 2021

Avoiding overshoot: why and how

Policy Brief #30, October 2021. Overshooting global temperature goals is risky. New research from the ENGAGE project shows the long-term economic benefits of scenarios that avoid overshoot and points out the investments needed to make it happen.

19 October 2021

Finding a feasible path

Policy Brief #29, October 2021. A new framework assesses the feasibility of climate scenarios, pointing out stumbling blocks and how to surmount them.

19 August 2021

Water for growth

Impact Sheet #20, August 2021. IIASA and partners in East Africa are studying how the region’s economic development could affect water resources.

28 February 2021

Cooperation and joint investments are key to sustainable development in the Indus basin

Policy Brief #28, February 2021. Achieving sustainable development in the Indus basin will strongly depend on the capacity of riparian countries to realize the opportunities that arise when cooperation and joint investments across sectors and countries are embraced.

27 February 2021

Sustainable development pathways to water, food, and energy security in the Zambezi basin

Policy Brief #27, February 2021. The Zambezi basin has enough resources to meet its development targets but doing so sustainably will require making strategic choices that deviate from the prevailing development paradigm and investing in the outstanding natural capital of riparian countries.

18 January 2021

Assessing biofuels for transport

Impact Sheet #18, January 2021. IIASA models feed into the biofuel policies of international aviation and the EU road transportation sector, helping to steer them towards cleaner feedstocks.

11 January 2021

Limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels

Impact Sheet #19, January 2021. IIASA research has guided the global policymaking community in their efforts to limit global temperature increase to this ambitious goal. When the world’s attention was focussed toward the 2°C target, the institute’s sophisticated analysis mapped credible pathways towards the 1.5°C goal

22 April 2020

Recovery of the Austrian economy following the COVID-19 crisis can take up to three year

Policy Brief #26, April 2020. Collaboration between researchers from IIASA, WU, WIFO, and the IHS provides scenarios of the medium-run economic effects of the lockdown in Austria using the IIASA macroeconomic simulation model. The analysis suggests that the return to the business-as-usual trend may take up to three years after a steep initial economic downturn due to the lockdown, and a gradual recovery thereafter.

19 December 2019

Governance innovation through nature-based solutions

Policy Brief #25, December 2019. There is growing recognition that using the properties of nature can help provide viable and cost-effective solutions to a broad range of societal challenges, including disaster risk reduction.

18 July 2019

Redirect and unleash clean energy investment to achieve Paris climate targets

Policy Brief #24, July 2019. Investment in low-carbon energy is making a difference. IIASA research now provides decision makers with valuable data on the capital required to ramp up renewables, boost energy efficiency, redirect energy portfolios, and fill investment gaps.

green energy illustration with solar panels and windturbines

26 June 2019

Understand and reduce uncertainties to keep temperature targets on track

Policy Brief #23, June 2019. IIASA research has found explanations for variations in estimates of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. According to the researchers, actions set out in countries’ nationally determined contributions are described ambiguously, introducing uncertainty into the stocktaking process. This poses a danger that action plans will not be strengthened sufficiently to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.

Artistic symbol of global warming and climate change in southwest deserts.

22 June 2019

Designing effective multiple-objective energy, climate, and development policies

Policy Brief #22, June 2019. A study of seventeen climate and energy policies offers design guidelines for more effective policymaking and implementation.

21 December 2018

Between 1.5°C and 2°C – the big impacts of half a degree

Policy Brief #21, December 2018. IIASA research shows substantial benefits of climate mitigation and achieving the 1.5°C target, as well as where action is most urgently required to reduce the vulnerability of the world’s poorest to unavoidable climate impacts.

Person sitting on cracked earth by drought

20 October 2018

Digitalization will transform the global economy

Policy Brief #20, October 2018. New research has identified several adaptive actions that can both support national economies and prepare countries for a future shaped by digitalization.

19 September 2018

Education and the sustainable development agenda

Policy Brief #19, September 2018. With the launch of the global Sustainable Development Goals agenda in 2015 comes an opportunity to critically reflect on the role of education in, through, and for sustainable development.

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