News
20 May 2026
New Elsevier report on Austria’s science system highlights IIASA’s global impact
IIASA has emerged as one of Austria’s standout research institutions in a new Elsevier report titled, Austria as a Science and Technology Nation, which benchmarks the country’s scientific performance in an international context.
18 May 2026
African Human Capital Data Sheet 2026
The African Human Capital Data Sheet 2026: Past Trends, Skills, and Future Pathways presents new evidence on population trends by level of education, skills, and demographic transitions across the African continent.
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.
Focus
Annual Report 2025
Annual Report 2025: Policy Impact Highlights
As part of its mission, IIASA provides scientific guidance to policymakers by applying systems analysis to global challenges.
Annual Report 2024
Annual Report 2024: Science Diplomacy Highlights
In 2024, IIASA strengthened its position as a trusted science diplomacy actor by deepening engagement with international institutions and supporting evidence-based policy dialogue across global platforms.
Impacts
Water for growth
Impact Sheet #20, August 2021. IIASA and partners in East Africa are studying how the region’s economic development could affect water resources.
Assessing biofuels for transport
Impact Sheet #18, January 2021. IIASA models feed into the biofuel policies of international aviation and the EU road transportation sector, helping to steer them towards cleaner feedstocks.
Limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
Impact Sheet #19, January 2021. IIASA research has guided the global policymaking community in their efforts to limit global temperature increase to this ambitious goal. When the world’s attention was focussed toward the 2°C target, the institute’s sophisticated analysis mapped credible pathways towards the 1.5°C goal
Policy briefs
Forest science and education in Ukraine: Priorities for action
Ukraine’s forest sector is suffering unprecedented challenges. War has impacted both forests and forestry – devastating forest areas, infrastructure and industry, as well as causing ‘brain drain’ and capacity loss due to the disruption of research institutions and the displacement of students and scientists. These impacts are compounded by factors including climate change, unstable forest health dynamics, landscape fires, and an overall decrease in forest productivity.
ENGAGE Summary for Policymakers
As the world faces the risks of dangerous climate change, policymakers, industry and civil society leaders are counting on Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to inform and guide strategies to deliver on the objectives of the Paris Agreement (PA) and subsequent agreements.
Stakeholder engagement in climate change solutions
Policy Brief #42, October 2023. Workshops bringing scientists together with stakeholders from various backgrounds have shown the importance of dialogue for co-designing climate pathways and highlighted the need for physical meetings and capacity building.
Policy applications
Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)
IIASA's GAINS model shapes international negotiations on international emission reduction accords under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.
Input to European Union Climate Policies
For more than 10 years, IIASA's GAINS model provides scientific input to the development of the climate policy proposals of the European Commission, dealing with (a) emission projections, mitigation potentials and costs for non-CO2 greenhouse gases, and (b) interactions and synergies between climate and air pollution strategies.
Input to European Union Air Quality Policies
Since 1995, IIASA's GAINS model has provided quantitative scientific analyses for the key air quality policy initiatives of the European Commission.