News | IIASA

IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber with the Barbados delegation

28 April 2026

Barbados Minister of Innovation Jonathan Reid visits IIASA to explore partnership on global sustainability challenges

A high-level delegation led by Senator Hon. Jonathan Reid, Barbados' Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science, and Technology, visited Schloss Laxenburg for a bilateral exchange with IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber on applied systems science and its potential to inform transformative policy.

28 April 2026

Susie Kitchens joins IIASA as Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations

IIASA is pleased to announce that Susie Kitchens will join the Institute as Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations in May 2026. In this senior leadership role, she will guide IIASA’s global engagement strategy, expand international partnerships, and enhance the Institute’s visibility and impact at the science-policy-society interface.

Earth night view from space map with city lights satellite-based observations. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

24 April 2026

Scientists call for integrating three energy demand goals into climate policy by 2035

A new study published in Science argues that governments should adopt three integrated energy demand goals by 2035, warning that climate policy will fall short unless it focuses not only on how energy is produced, but also on how it is used.

H.E. Mr. Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) with IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber

21 April 2026

IIASA welcomes Vice Minister Dong Baotong

IIASA had the honor of welcoming H.E. Mr. Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), to Schloss Laxenburg on Wednesday, 15 April 2026. The visit marked the first time a Vice Minister of MEE visited IIASA, highlighting the importance of science-based dialogue in addressing global environmental challenges.

17 April 2026

IIASA and OSCE explore collaboration on emerging technologies and security challenges

Earlier this week, IIASA welcomed a delegation from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to Schloss Laxenburg for a high-level exchange on advancing collaboration at the intersection of science, policy, and emerging technologies.

Diverse group of individuals gathered around a world globe. AI generated

13 April 2026

Envisioning just futures

Rising living costs, energy insecurity, widening inequality, and escalating climate impacts are fueling discussions on fairness and justice in climate policy. Yet, assumptions in global emission scenarios that determine who benefits and who bears the costs are often only made implicitly. A new IIASA-led study addresses this gap by offering a practical way to assess and design emission scenarios that explicitly account for distributive justice.

Female chinese worker testing production at line conveyor in china factory manufacturing

09 April 2026

Skills are replacing age-based labor supply as the engine of economies

As global population aging advances and countries face shrinking workforces, a new study focusing on China by IIASA researchers and colleagues from Nanjing University reveals how economic growth can persist despite these changes in age structures.

People walking in a city street lined with large trees

09 April 2026

Street green space can help cool cities, but it will not be enough on its own

A new IIASA-led study finds that expanding street green space can reduce urban heat stress in cities worldwide, but even ambitious greening efforts are unlikely to offset a significant share of the additional heat expected under climate change. Instead, the research shows that street greenery should be part of a broader portfolio of urban adaptation measures.

Circular economy and sustainability strategies concept. The sustainable solutions for reducing waste. The sustainable solutions for reducing waste and maximizing the use of resources, reduce, reuse, recycle, use of natural resources.

26 March 2026

From waste to opportunity: SOWU project delivers Uganda’s first national organic waste management strategy

IIASA researchers have been working with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), Stellenbosch University, and the African Centre for Clean Air, to provide financial and technical support to Uganda, through its National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), to develop the Uganda Sector Strategy for Organic Waste Management.