Press releases

Severe flooding in Pakistan contributes to hundreds of deaths, destruction of infrastructure, and the displacement of millions of people. In a new study, an international team of researchers used open data and tools to help understand differences in vulnerability to floods and better predict displacement in the future.

As countries around the world work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a new study by researchers from IIASA and Peking University highlights an overlooked but powerful solution hiding in plain sight: fluorocarbon banks.

Climate-related wildfires are once again making headlines as they rage across the northern hemisphere this summer. New IIASA research shows that addressing social and economic vulnerability across countries will be a key factor in mitigating the scale of resulting financial damage and emphasize sustainable development as essential to reducing climate-related impacts.

Mining in Brazil does not deliver the sustained economic benefits often claimed, while informal mining is a major driver of deforestation, especially in the Amazon. A new study offers one of the most comprehensive assessments to date, combining satellite imagery and economic data to analyze the environmental and economic impacts of mining at the municipal scale across Brazil.

In a new joint paper, IIASA researchers introduce five Priority Action Areas to guide the EU’s path beyond 2027, highlighting the vital role of a sustainable agricultural sector in ensuring the EU’s long-term economic resilience, prosperity, competitiveness, and environmental health.

A new policy brief, produced as part of the LAMASUS project, highlights that strategic agricultural de-intensification in the EU could help reduce agricultural carbon emissions by nearly a third and considerably improve biodiversity recovery.

Earth’s carbon-climate system may be more fragile than widely thought, according to a new IIASA-led study that looks at the planet’s response to human pressures from a planetary perspective.

In 2023, India surpassed China as the most populous country in the world, and is likely to retain this status for the remainder of this century. In a recent study, IIASA researchers explored whether India could also surpass China in terms of broader socio-economic potential, given the country’s rapid economic growth in recent decades.

New research led by IIASA reveals a surprising link between two major climate tipping elements: the Southern Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). While the study finds that a weakening AMOC may buffer dry season rainfall loss in the Amazon, it also highlights the urgent need to reduce emissions as broader climate risks continue to escalate.