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.

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.
Models, tools, datasets
Projects
Staff
News

06 February 2025
Rethinking energy demand can foster sustainable development and reduce emissions from buildings and transport

24 January 2025
Delegation from Greece visits IIASA to explore further collaborations

13 November 2024
IIASA researchers help central banks to assess climate risks in the financial sector
Events
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. Zhu, R. & Ma, T. (2025). Policy mixes to promote the diffusion of battery electric vehicles with an agent-based model and experiments using the case of China. Energy Economics 142 e108152. 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.108152. Hunt, J. , Nascimento, A., Diuana, F.A., de Assis Brasil Weber, N., Castro, G.M., Chaves, A.C., Mesquita, A.L.A., Colling, A.V., & Schneider, P.S. (2025). Cooling Down the World Oceans and the Earth. In: Geoengineering and Climate Change. pp. 265-285 Wiley. ISBN 9781394204380 10.1002/9781394204847.ch16. van Heerden, R., Edelenbosch, O.Y., Daioglou, V., Le Gallic, T., Baptista, L.B., Di Bella, A., Colelli, F.P., Emmerling, J., Fragkos, P., Hasse, R., Hoppe, J., Kishimoto, P. , Leblanc, F., Lefèvre, J., Luderer, G., Marangoni, G., Mastrucci, A. , Pettifor, H., Pietzcker, R., Rochedo, P., van Ruijven, B. , Schaeffer, R., Wilson, C. , Yeh, S., Zisarou, E., & van Vuuren, D. (2025). Demand-side strategies enable rapid and deep cuts in buildings and transport emissions to 2050. Nature Energy 10.1038/s41560-025-01703-1. (In Press) Wang, S., Zhong, H., Yang, G., Zhou, A., & Liu, J. (2024). Has digital development achieved a synergistic effect of reducing energy intensity and improving carbon emission performance? evidence from China. Frontiers in Environmental Science 12 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1397753.