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Researchers from IIASA and partner institutions in the EU funded PARATUS project introduce a new generation of modeling tools that help not only better understand but also reduce systemic risk and vulnerability to multiple, possibly cascading, natural and man-made hazards. Instead of relying on traditional independent hazards’ analysis and static risk mapping, the IIASA PARATUS team from CAT-ASA group develops novel dynamic modeling approaches enabling to analyze and project how hazards’ patterns and vulnerability dimensions can evolve over time as functions of vulnerability drivers—and how risk-informed policy choices regarding the drivers can reduce risks and vulnerability of all kinds.

Although many policymakers might still not realize it, disasters like floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes are not isolated events. Their impacts can spread much wider, disrupting power supply, cutting off roads, or even worse – delaying logistics and your next Amazon delivery by weeks. The latest deliverable in the PARATUS Project sets out to build a clear methodology for assessing systemic risks across the case studies chosen earlier in this project.

As a co-host, JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer will share the latest project insights during this webinar co-organized by Risk KAN and NATURANCE.

At the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2025), IIASA researchers highlighted the critical role of cultural context in combating climate change disinformation. Presenting the Adaptation AGORA project, they showcased a suite of innovative digital tools, including a mobile app and a dedicated Disinformation Academy, designed to empower citizens and build climate resilience through inclusive, participatory governance. The project moves beyond top-down approaches to co-create adaptation strategies that are both scientifically robust and socially legitimate.

A recent Financial Times special report on climate-related research funding features IIASA Director-General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber in his role as a past Blue Planet Prize laureate. The article highlights the urgent need to better connect scientific evidence, policy action, and public communication to drive meaningful climate solutions.

Several IIASA researchers were among the nearly 60,000 participants at COP30 in Belém, a diverse gathering of global leaders, industry, youth, and non-state actors. This year also saw record participation from Indigenous people, with more than 3,000 representatives highlighting their crucial role as guardians of biodiversity.

IIASA is participating in Clean Air Week 2025, taking place from 24-28 November at the Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok. Throughout the week, IIASA researchers will contribute to discussions, present recent findings, and support the organization of key sessions focused on air quality and climate-related challenges in Asia.

Thinking about applying for the 2026 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP)? Want to learn more about the program and how to prepare a strong application? Join our two-hour YSSP Masterclass for the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Member Organization (SSARMO). It will offer participants comprehensive information about the 2026 YSSP program, including application procedures, practical guidance for developing competitive research proposals, opportunities to engage with IIASA program representatives through breakout sessions, and insights from SSARMO YSSP alumni.  

International scientific collaboration brings people together, but also carries hidden costs. Jack Vahnberg and Steffen Lohrey share their experiences living in short-term rentals in Vienna during the 2025 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). From wasted household items and energy inefficiency to the impact on urban structures and housing affordability, they explore how the realities of temporary stays can conflict with the very sustainability goals their research aims to promote.

From Environmental and Earth Observation to Policy: Integrated Monitoring for Biodiversity and Climate

Africa is taking a leading role in shaping global dialogues by empowering researchers, institutions, and policymakers to influence decision-making and co-develop evidence, based solutions to shared challenges. At the heart of this effort lies systems analysis, a powerful approach for understanding and addressing the complex interconnections between food, energy, water, and climate systems.

End to Begin, a multidisciplinary theater play by IIASA alumna Gloria Benedikt, which addresses the state and future of the planet and how humans live on it, is returning to the Odeon Theater in Vienna from 26-29 January 2026 for a series of public and school performances.

Fast and decisive mitigation of methane emissions remains one of the few options the world still has to limit global warming in the next few decades. Today, mid-way through COP30, high-level representatives at the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) Ministerial released the Global Methane Status Report 2025, a comprehensive assessment of global progress and remaining gaps in efforts to cut methane. The report’s findings are underpinned by analyses conducted by IIASA researchers.

In a recent Tagesspiegel feature exploring the meaning of “I don’t have another land,” IIASA Director-General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber offers a powerful reminder that humanity also has no “second planet.” His contribution links historical memory with the urgent global challenge of protecting Earth’s life-support systems.

Against the backdrop of negotiations at COP30 in Belém, a group of leading climate scientists has released the Búzios Scientific Statement, offering a clear assessment of the world’s remaining options to return to 1.5°C of warming by the end of the century. The statement reflects growing recognition that a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C is now unavoidable, while also showing that pathways back to safer temperature levels remain open if action accelerates quickly.

IIASA and partners are advancing research on how interconnected global crises can be transformed into opportunities for resilience and sustainable development. Drawing on insights from a new International Journal of Disaster Risk Science special issue, IIASA researchers working at the coalface of this topic highlight innovative frameworks and tools for understanding systemic risks and guiding more integrated, science-informed policymaking.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) methods are becoming increasingly important in both science and society. In climate science - where complex biophysical and societal processes interact across diverse temporal and spatial scales, and datasets are often large, heterogenous and incomplete - AI and ML methods offer new powerful solutions.

The final stakeholder workshop of the Austria Fire Futures (AFF) project gathered leading experts, policymakers, foresters, firefighters, and tourism representatives on October 28, 2025, at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg to discuss Austria’s growing wildfire risks and the way forward toward climate resilience.