The reciprocal relationships between human populations and the environment becomes increasingly important in the light of climate change. Researchers from IIASA and Wittgenstein Centre published the Fact Sheet Climate Change and Demography, providing information for policy makers and scientists about some key areas where demography can contribute to climate research.
Human populations are at the center of climate change research. On the one hand, human activities contribute to climate change. On the other hand, changes in the climate system affect human wellbeing and livelihoods. Both the contribution to and the impact of global warming is not distributed equally across the planet. Rather, different people in different places contribute and suffer to different degrees, depending on their characteristics and their level of affluence. Climate risks are the outcome of differential exposure and vulnerability to hazards. Understanding the reciprocal relationships between human populations and climate change and how they will evolve in the future, thus, is crucial for policy design and planning, in the areas of both mitigation and adaptation.
News
05 November 2026
What will society look like after the world's population hits its peak?
How will populations around the world change over the next three centuries, and what will those changes mean for future societies? In a new study, IIASA researcher Samir KC explores how populations and human capital across 200 countries and territories could evolve in the years leading up to 2300.
04 November 2026
SPARCCLE Consortium Meets in Athens to Set the Course for the Final Phase
Project partners from across Europe gathered in Athens on 29-30 September 2026 for the in-person General Assembly of the SPARCCLE project. Hosted by the E3-Modelling team of WSP, the two-day meeting provided an important opportunity to take stock of progress, consolidate research findings, and align on the project’s final outputs as it enters its concluding phase.
04 November 2026
European Commission's CORDIS platform highlights NATURANCE project
Research results from the Horizon Europe project “NATURANCE – Nature for insurance, and insurance for nature” have been highlighted by the European Commission’s Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS), the primary platform for sharing the results of EU-funded research and innovation projects.