The American Geophysical Union (AGU) annual meeting is the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists which convenes 25,000+ attendees from 100+ countries to share research and connect with friends and colleagues.
Scientists, educators, policymakers, journalists, and communicators take part of the meeting to better understand our planet and environment, opening pathways to discovery, opening greater awareness to address climate change, opening greater collaborations to lead to solutions and opening the fields and professions of science to a whole new age of justice equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
This December, AGU24 will take place in Washington, D.C. with the theme “What’s Next for Science.” IIASA colleagues are participating in several events presenting their research.
Agricultural monitoring from space
From IIASA's Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES) research group, Benjamin Goffin, together with Juan Carlos Laso Bayas, Ian McCallum, and Fernando Orduña-Cabrera, will present Agricultural monitoring from the International Space Station: linking ECOSTRESS at different overpass times to actual field conditions.
Exploring air quality issues in Asia
Younha Kim will participate online as co-author of four abstracts:
- AQNEA: Future Air Quality in Northeast Asia under Carbon Neutrality
- Analysis of Future Clean Air in Northeast Asia under Carbon Neutrality using the GUIDE-Global Model
- ASIA-AQ Emissions: A Comprehensive Northeast Asian Emissions Inventory in Support of the NASA/NIER ASIA-AQ Mission
- Evaluation of Anthropogenic VOC Chemical Speciation Profiles for Improved Emissions Inventory in Korea
Showcasing advancements in modeling
Andre Nakhavali will be presenting the latest IIASA modeling advancements.
Energy-water-land interactions under climate change
Amanda Palazzo will present in a session focused on Multisector Dynamics: Energy-Water-Land Interactions at Multiple Scales under a Changing Climate.
As populations grow and incomes rise, the demand for food, fiber, and bioenergy will increase. Regions that share natural resources, especially those spanning multiple countries, face significant challenges in achieving sustainable economic development. Climate change will likely worsen these challenges. Policymakers may need to adjust current policies, investments, and adaptation strategies to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of water, food, and energy.
In this regard Palazzo and her colleagues have done extensive research on assessing sustainable development pathways for water, food, and energy security in a transboundary river basin. The results have also been published in an IIASA Policy Brief.
At AGU, Palazzo will present the work from the Assessing Climate Change Risk in Europe (ACCREU) research project where IIASA examines the integrated impacts of climate on the water and land sectors with links to bioenergy through forests for the EU.
Social science and justice in climate research
Caroline Zimm is co-organizing the session GC026 - Advancing social science and justice considerations in climate research. Achieving climate goals can promote inclusive growth or exacerbate inequities, contingent on means and approaches. Just and rapid energy transitions demand illuminating and addressing conflicts through inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration and improved modeling that integrates social science insights. This session aims to build a community and foster dialogue by blending integrated modeling with social science on pathways to net-zero emissions and Sustainable Development Goals. We invite papers exploring the intersection of social and behavioral sciences, systems design, and energy-climate policy. Celebrating a diversity of approaches and perspectives, we highlight papers promoting cross-disciplinary translation to enhance credibility and salience of energy-climate models. Emphases include:
- analyzing interactions of energy transitions with social systems,
- modeling diverse socio-political futures outside of present configurations,
- new modeling grounded in philosophical theory,
- tools/ heuristics navigating competing justice framings, highlighting hitherto overlooked justice considerations,
- Multi-model comparisons and studies identifying modeling contributions for social sciences