Press releases

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Press Releases

05 May 2022

Identifying global poverty from space

Despite successes in reducing poverty globally in the last two decades, almost one billion people are still living without access to reliable and affordable electricity, which in turn negatively affects health and welfare, and impedes sustainable development. Knowing where these people are is crucial if aid and infrastructure are to reach them. A new IIASA-led study proposes a novel method to estimate global economic wellbeing using nighttime satellite images.

Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA)

Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES)

Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE)

Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions (TISS)

Collage showing renewable energy sources, solar panels, wind turbines and a hydro electricity dam

03 May 2022

How solving Central Asia's water-energy conflict can also boost renewable energy generation

Researchers from the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program found that agricultural efforts in downstream countries in Central Asia, traditionally hampered by a lack of water for irrigation during the summer growing season, would be significantly boosted with a “dual water and energy storage scheme”, which also paves the way for high shares of renewable energy generation in the region.

Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE)

Sustainable Service Systems (S3)

Integrated Assessment and Climate Change (IACC)

Icons showing concepts of sustainable development and green business based on renewable energy, electric transport, offset by planting trees

06 April 2022

New IPCC Report: we can halve emissions by 2030

Between 2010 and 2019, average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of the success of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR)

Integrated Biosphere Futures (IBF)

Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE)

Sustainable Service Systems (S3)

Pollution Management (PM)

Integrated Assessment and Climate Change (IACC)

Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions (TISS)

Aerial shot of a tropical forest with cut wood logs

01 April 2022

Crowdsourcing campaign identifies drivers of tropical forest loss

To combat forest loss in the tropics, a new study uses crowdsourcing to identify the drivers of deforestation. The resulting dataset can be used to create high-resolution maps and help policymakers apply the best protection measures.

Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA)

Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES)

Brimstone butterfly on a purple flower against bright blue sky

31 March 2022

How can we improve biodiversity monitoring in Europe?

National biodiversity monitoring programs in Europe face many challenges, according to the first report of the Europe-wide EuropaBON project released today. The analysis includes data from more than 350 experts from policy, science, and environmental protection practice. The team is also drafting a proposal for a transnational monitoring of Europe's biodiversity and ecosystems.

Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA)

Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES)

Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR)

Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation (BEC)

Image of the Earth and a satellite in space with smartphones showing the CAMALIOT app

17 March 2022

Use your cellphone to improve weather forecasts

Ahead of World Meteorological Day, you can help improve weather forecasting models with CAMALIOT, an infrastructure and app that uses GPS from smartphones to support scientific research. Join our crowdsourcing campaign on 17 March 2022 ̶ any person with access to an Android cellphone is invited to download the free app and participate.

Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA)

Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES)

Planet Earth as a green, ecological and renewable energy world concept.

10 March 2022

Cutting HFCs to cool the Earth

To have a better chance of holding global warming to 1.5°C, we need to accelerate the phase-down of HFC refrigerants under the Montreal Protocol. This could also reduce pollution and improve energy access.

Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE)

Pollution Management (PM)

Conceptual image with an hourglass and a world map

10 March 2022

We are running out of time to counteract global change

The increase in emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is only one of several serious global threats to our continued existence on Earth, and their reduction is at the core of international agreements like the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Together with Ukrainian colleagues, IIASA researchers took a novel approach to further the understanding of the planetary burden and its dynamics caused by emissions from human activity.

Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA)

Exploratory Modeling of Human-natural Systems (EM)

World map overview of virus infected regions.

08 March 2022

Understanding modern infectious diseases and their impacts

Curbing or even containing a pandemic breakout like COVID-19 almost always implies unpalatable choices between lost lives and livelihoods. The authors of a new study just published in the Journal of Economic Literature set out to better understand the impacts and trade-offs policymakers must consider when addressing modern infectious diseases and their macroeconomic repercussions.

Economic Frontiers (EF)

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