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Press Releases

29 November 2021
Why we must avoid temperature overshoot
A new international study coordinated by IIASA shows how near-term mitigation can help to prevent an overshoot in global temperatures, thereby reducing climate risks and bringing long-term economic gains.

25 November 2021
Crowdsourcing data to monitor progress on the SDGs
Monitoring progress on our way to successfully achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is key to their achievement, but there are significant data gaps that make this crucial exercise difficult. A new IIASA-led study explored the use of a citizen science tool known as Picture Pile to see how it could contribute to SDG monitoring.

12 November 2021
Agriculture and conservation objectives do not have to be at odds
Crop and livestock production are among the main drivers of biodiversity loss globally. Due to the ever-increasing demand of land for food production, reverting global biodiversity decline and feeding the world is one of the greatest challenges of our time. A new study finds that integrating food production and biodiversity conservation within a single spatial planning framework can minimize these trade-offs to the benefit of both nature and people.

10 November 2021
A climate policy framework to deal with existential climate risk
As the impacts of climate change become more severe and limits to adaptation draw near, vulnerable communities will need different kinds of finance to build resilience and transform how they protect themselves. Work by IIASA researchers has culminated in a new policy brief, which lays out a finance framework for such climate risk and provides relevant model insight to inform international debates around adaptation and Loss and Damage.

04 November 2021
Cutting ammonia emissions is a cost-effective way to prevent air pollution deaths
Tackling pollution from the emission of nitrogen compounds, particularly ammonia, could reduce many of the 23.3 million years of life that were lost prematurely across the world in 2013 due to nitrogen-related air pollution, an international study led by Chinese scientists has discovered using a modeling framework, including the IIASA GAINS model.

01 November 2021
Global climate change impacts on crops expected within 10 years
Climate change may affect the production of maize (corn) and wheat by 2030 if current trends continue, according to a new international study that included researchers from IIASA, NASA, and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Maize crop yields are projected to decline by 24%, while wheat could potentially see growth of about 17%.

28 October 2021
How recovery from COVID-19 and climate policies might affect the use of “clean” cooking fuels
Replacing polluting cooking fuels with clean-burning ones can save lives and reduce our impact on the environment. A group of IIASA researchers shows how recovery from the pandemic and climate mitigation policies might affect access to clean fuels.

19 October 2021
Road impacts on ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is developing rapidly. With growing economies and increased trade, major road infrastructure plans have been developed for the region, which also hosts some of the world’s most unique and diverse ecosystems. New research looked into how roads might impact ecosystems in the region.

18 October 2021
Exploring the global environmental impacts of China's growing demand for food
Ensuring China’s future food security will have huge environmental impacts, both domestically and globally. A study by IIASA researchers and Chinese colleagues shows that carefully designed policies across the whole of China’s food system, including international trade, are crucial to ensuring that future demand can be satisfied without destroying the environment.