Press releases

IIASA Acting Water Program Director Yoshihide Wada has been awarded the American Geophysical Union’s James B. Macelwane Medal 2020, widely considered as the highest honor for early career scientists in the fields of Earth and space science.

Countries across the globe have been struggling to deal with the impact of COVID-19 and the accompanying economic slowdown. As economies “build back better”, it may be an opportune time to introduce carbon pricing to tackle climate change while generating socioeconomic benefits, according to new interdisciplinary policy research by philosophers and economists.

A new grant from the European Research Council (ERC) will fund an international research project on negative emissions technologies. IIASA Energy Program Director Keywan Riahi is one of the project leaders.

Amid deep disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge in well-designed energy policies is essential in forging a resilient energy system equipped to meet global climate goals as well as air quality standards.

According to an international team of researchers, a ‘safety net’ made up of multiple, interlinked and ambitious goals is needed to tackle nature’s alarming decline.

IIASA, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, and the Global Environment Facility have launched an interactive online mapping tool that allows the public and policymakers to easily explore overlapping and interconnected climate risks around the world.

Month-on-month, year-on-year, the world continues to experience record high temperatures. In response to this and exacerbated by a growing global population, it is expected that air-conditioning demand will continue to rise. A new IIASA-led study explored the pros and cons of seawater air-conditioning as an alternative cooling solution.

Global stimulus plans for economic recovery after the pandemic could easily cover climate-friendly policies, suggests new study.

As the world focuses on the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, a new landmark study pinpoints the ecosystems that should be restored for the biggest climate and biodiversity benefits at the lowest cost. According to the authors, restoration can potentially be 13 times more cost-effective when it takes place in the highest priority locations.