News | IIASA

05 May 2026

Amazon understory forests show short-term boost in CO₂ uptake – but this comes at a cost

Tropical forests are one of the planet's most important carbon sinks – often also called "the lungs of the Earth". But their future in a high-CO₂ world remains uncertain. IIASA researchers contributed to a new study, which suggests even small understory trees in the Amazon may initially buffer climate change more strongly. Their long-term capacity to store carbon could, however, be restricted by nutrient availability, highlighting the vulnerability of these ecosystems under future climate conditions.

04 May 2026

Integrating energy, materials, and industry for climate and development goals

Within the framework of the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum (IVECF) 2026, CircEUlar researchers Volker Krey (IIASA), Alessio Mastrucci (IIASA), Adriana Gomez Sanabria (IIASA), and Dominik Wiedenhofer (BOKU) convened a high-level Deep Dive session titled “Integrated green industrialisation strategies across the energy, material and climate nexus to achieve climate and development goals” on 10 April. The session brought together representatives from policy, industry, finance, international organisations, and research.

IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber

30 April 2026

IIASA Director General engages at Regional Ecological Summit in Kazakhstan

In April, IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, visited Kazakhstan at the invitation of Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, to participate in the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (RES 2026).

IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber with the Barbados delegation

28 April 2026

Barbados Minister of Innovation Jonathan Reid visits IIASA to explore partnership on global sustainability challenges

A high-level delegation led by Senator Hon. Jonathan Reid, Barbados' Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science, and Technology, visited Schloss Laxenburg for a bilateral exchange with IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber on applied systems science and its potential to inform transformative policy.

28 April 2026

Susie Kitchens joins IIASA as Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations

IIASA is pleased to announce that Susie Kitchens will join the Institute as Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations in May 2026. In this senior leadership role, she will guide IIASA’s global engagement strategy, expand international partnerships, and enhance the Institute’s visibility and impact at the science-policy-society interface.

Earth night view from space map with city lights satellite-based observations. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

24 April 2026

Scientists call for integrating three energy demand goals into climate policy by 2035

A new study published in Science argues that governments should adopt three integrated energy demand goals by 2035, warning that climate policy will fall short unless it focuses not only on how energy is produced, but also on how it is used.

H.E. Mr. Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) with IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber

21 April 2026

IIASA welcomes Vice Minister Dong Baotong

IIASA had the honor of welcoming H.E. Mr. Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), to Schloss Laxenburg on Wednesday, 15 April 2026. The visit marked the first time a Vice Minister of MEE visited IIASA, highlighting the importance of science-based dialogue in addressing global environmental challenges.

17 April 2026

IIASA and OSCE explore collaboration on emerging technologies and security challenges

Earlier this week, IIASA welcomed a delegation from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to Schloss Laxenburg for a high-level exchange on advancing collaboration at the intersection of science, policy, and emerging technologies.

Diverse group of individuals gathered around a world globe. AI generated

13 April 2026

Envisioning just futures

Rising living costs, energy insecurity, widening inequality, and escalating climate impacts are fueling discussions on fairness and justice in climate policy. Yet, assumptions in global emission scenarios that determine who benefits and who bears the costs are often only made implicitly. A new IIASA-led study addresses this gap by offering a practical way to assess and design emission scenarios that explicitly account for distributive justice.

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