The S3 Group focuses on demand-side systems as entry points for sustainable transformations. The group analyses demand for energy and materials through the lens of service provision of mobility, shelter, and consumer goods, as well as how lifestyle changes can contribute to consumption reduction.
© Jon Anders Wiken | Dreamstime.com
The S3 Group have two overarching research objectives. First, to understand the evolution of behaviors and lifestyles around energy services and assess their environmental impacts; and second, to identify and understand policy interventions that can change behaviors and lifestyles to minimize environmental impacts. The group’s research binds together work on three domains that are critical for a transformation toward sustainable societies, namely buildings, mobility, and consumer goods, which are connected through changes in infrastructures and lifestyles. S3 aims to establish and lead a research community on demand-side transitions and to innovate conceptual frameworks for demand-side model comparisons.
Themes
Scenario Services and Scientific Software
Access to Energy Services
Finance
Sustainable buildings
Models, tools, datasets
Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impact (MESSAGEix)
ENGAGE Scenario Explorer
NGFS-IIASA Scenario Explorer
AR6 Scenario Explorer and Database
Projects
Exploring National and Global Actions to reduce Greenhouse gas Emissions (ENGAGE)
Next generation of AdVanced InteGrated Assessment modelling to support climaTE policy making (NAVIGATE)
Energy Demand changes Induced by Technological and Social innovations (EDITS)
Sustainable development pathways achieving Human well-being while safeguarding the climate And Planet Earth (SHAPE)
Staff
David Liam Leoncio Hehl
Researcher (S3)
Aneeque Javaid
Research Scholar (IACC, S3)
Bing Zhu
Guest Senior Research Scholar (IACC, S3)
Yiyi Ju
Research Scholar (S3)
News
06 February 2025
Rethinking energy demand can foster sustainable development and reduce emissions from buildings and transport
In a new study, IIASA scientists show that a mix of policy measures, including both technological solutions and behavioral changes, can significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy use in buildings and transport.
24 January 2025
Delegation from Greece visits IIASA to explore further collaborations
On 23 January 2025, IIASA was honored to receive a high-level delegation from Greece, visiting to learn about the institute’s research on wildfires, urban planning, wind and solar energy, as well as to explore opportunities for future collaboration.
13 November 2024
IIASA researchers help central banks to assess climate risks in the financial sector
IIASA researchers provide over one hundred central banks all over the world with scenarios that help them make the financial sector more resilient to climate change. The scenarios have recently been updated to reflect advances in climate policies and assess risks more comprehensively. This work was conducted by a scientific consortium to support the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
Events
Vienna, Austria and online
IIASA at EGU 2024
Focus
11 December 2024
Advancing climate insights with social media data
IIASA recently hosted an interdisciplinary research workshop under the LowAI project to explore how social media and digital platforms can advance climate and sustainability research. The participants tackled the challenges of leveraging digital data to shape effective climate actions and foster social change. IIASA researcher Sandeep Chowdhary shares his insights and experiences from the event.
25 September 2024
How policymakers make informed decisions for climate action
Have you ever wondered how policymakers make informed decisions for climate action? "That’s an easy one," you might say. "With science of course!" But even for scientists, understanding the world's climate is complex, and forecasting potential future developments is even more so. IIASA 2024 Science Communication Intern, Moritz Boeswirth explored this topic.
Publications
Hunt, J. , Nascimento, A., Zakeri, B. , Ilyas, A., Ramos, D.S., Kuriqi, A., Tolmasquim, M.T., de Freitas, M.A.V., Brandão, R., & Wada, Y. (2025). Optimizing hydropower generation with reservoir level management in humid regions. Energy Reports 13 856-864. 10.1016/j.egyr.2024.12.064. Gesangyangji, G., Holloway, T., Vimont, D.J., Mastrucci, A. , Byers, E. , & Acker, S.J. (2025). The hours matter: comparing indicators of US residential cooling from hourly versus daily climate variables. Environmental Research Letters 20 (4) e044024. 10.1088/1748-9326/adbd54. Niamir, L. & Creutzig, F. (2025). Closing the gap: Integrating behavioral and social dynamics through a modular modelling framework for low-energy demand pathways. Energy Research & Social Science 122 e103988. 10.1016/j.erss.2025.103988. Maury, O., Tittensor, D. P., Eddy, T. D., Allison, E. H., Bahri, T., Barrier, N., Campling, L., Cheung, W. W. L., Frieler, K., Fulton, E. A., Guillotreau, P., Heneghan, R. F., Lam, V. W. Y., Leclere, D. , Lengaigne, M., Lotze‐Campen, H., Novaglio, C., Ortega‐Cisneros, K., Rault, J., Schewe, J., Shin, Y.‐J., Sloterdijk, H., Squires, D., Sumaila, U. R., Tidd, A. N., van Ruijven, B. , & Blanchard, J. (2025). The Ocean System Pathways (OSPs): A New Scenario and Simulation Framework to Investigate the Future of the World Fisheries. Earth's Future 13 (3) e2024EF004851. 10.1029/2024EF004851. Ren, Y., Zhu, H., Jiang, M., Cao, Y., Li, C., Yu, Y., Chen, D., Xu, M., Guo, B., & Zhu, B. (2025). Filling the Gaps: Tracing 12 Types of Non-commodity Plastics in China’s Plastic Socioeconomic Metabolism. Environmental Science & Technology 59 (10) 5001-5011. 10.1021/acs.est.5c01174.