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Press Releases

01 February 2022
New framework of indicators for achieving Sustainable Development Goals
The world is not on track to achieve all the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and more insight into how we can get back on track is urgently needed. An article by an international team of scientists proposes a more limited set of more easily measurable targets that can be used in scenario analysis for achieving all of the SDGs by the target date.

31 January 2022
Forest management increases climate benefits provided by boreal forests
The carbon stock in managed boreal forest landscapes is increasing, while it is relatively unchanged in less intensively utilized forests where carbon losses due to forest fires have instead been significant during 1990-2017, according to a new report by the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA).

20 January 2022
Coordinated action needed to halt and reverse dangerous biodiversity loss
Halting, then reversing the ongoing loss of Earth’s plant and animal diversity requires far more than an expanded global system of protected areas of land and seas, scientists warn. What is needed, is successful, coordinated action across a diverse, interconnected set of transformative changes, including massive reductions in harmful agricultural and fishing subsidies, deep reductions in overconsumption, and holding climate change to 1.5°C.

10 January 2022
How circular waste management systems can benefit the environment
The increasing amounts of municipal solid waste and ineffective waste management systems threaten the environment and contribute to climate warming, yet the waste sector is often neglected in discussions about climate change and air pollution. A new IIASA-led study shows, for the first time, how circular waste management systems can help to effectively curb emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.

13 December 2021
How we measure the effects of methane matters for climate policy
How effective is the promotion of low-meat diets at reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to carbon pricing when the effectiveness of mitigation policies is measured against methane’s long-term behavior? An international team of researchers explored how focusing either on the short- or long-term warming effects of methane can affect climate mitigation policies and dietary transitions in agriculture.

13 December 2021
Exploring the link between access to electricity and fertility
Access to electricity and modern cooking fuels, especially for women in the Global South, leads to time savings in the home, improved health, and better access to information, which in turn increase the wellbeing of women and allow them to make informed reproductive choices, according to a new study just published in Nature Sustainability.

02 December 2021
A package of policies can help smallholder farmers adapt to a changing climate
A project by researchers from Princeton University and IIASA investigated how different climate scenarios and policy interventions could affect smallholder farmers in Nepal who stand to lose up to a quarter of their income by 2050 due to the effects of climate change.

30 November 2021
Climate action can lessen poverty and inequality worldwide
Climate change disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable populations. Not only are these effects compounding and magnifying existing inequalities, but the impacts will increase in severity over time, affecting both current and future generations. A new international study shows that the redistribution of revenues from a carbon tax can promote equity and protect marginalized populations.

29 November 2021
Exploring pathways to reduce the economic and environmental risks of climate change
Allowing global temperatures to rise beyond maximum thresholds and then trying to bring them back down again through mitigation strategies is risky. A new study by an international team of researchers explored the physical and macroeconomic impacts associated with mitigation pathways with different levels of temperature overshoot.