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.
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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
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
Adrian Fernandez
Guest Intern (S3)
Heidelinde Trimmel
Research Scholar (S3)
Bas van Ruijven
Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar (S3); Principal Research Scholar (IACC, TISS)
Measrainsey Meng
Research Scholar (IACC, S3)
News
21 June 2024
Supporting the right small changes can have big impacts
Small changes in our everyday actions can trigger significant, rapid societal shifts especially when it comes to climate action. A new IIASA-led study highlights the importance of analyzing these dynamics with a comprehensive framework to harness their full potential for reducing carbon emissions.
05 June 2024
The 2024 State of CDR Report: Scaling up CO2 removal to meet Paris Targets
The 2024 State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report finds that around 7–9 billion tonnes of CO2 per year will need to be removed by mid-century from the atmosphere if the world is to meet the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target. The authors stress that reducing emissions is the primary way to achieve net-zero, but Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) has a critical role to play.
12 March 2024
Pioneering project investigating crisis effects on social systems wins FWF Emerging Fields Funding
The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) has awarded the Resilience and Malleability of Social Metabolism (REMASS) project funding of over six million euros for the next five years. This is an important milestone for this new field of research, which is being carried out by scientists from several Austrian institutions including IIASA.
Events
Vienna, Austria and online
IIASA at EGU 2024
Focus
14 June 2024
Expert workshop on digitalization narratives and climate change mitigation
Charlie Wilson and Elena Verdolini share insights and experiences from an expert workshop on the impacts of digitalization on energy, materials, the economy, markets, lifestyles, and society, and how these impacts directly or indirectly affect greenhouse gas emissions.
21 December 2023
High wellbeing with low energy demand towards modern net-zero cities
Following the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum in November 2023, IIASA researcher Benigna Boza-Kiss reflects on the contribution from the IIASA EDITS project team to this conference, which brought together experts from various disciplines to discuss multi-faceted energy demand in cities like Vienna.
Publications
Hirata, A., Ohashi, H., Hasegawa, T., Fujimori, S. , Takahashi, K., Tsuchiya, K., & Matsui, T. (2024). The choice of land-based climate change mitigation measures influences future global biodiversity loss. Communications Earth & Environment 5 (1) e259. 10.1038/s43247-024-01433-4. Oshiro, K. & Fujimori, S. (2024). Mid-century net-zero emissions pathways for Japan: Potential roles of global mitigation scenarios in informing national decarbonization strategies. Energy and Climate Change 5 e100128. 10.1016/j.egycc.2024.100128. Makowski, M. , Granat, J., Shekhovtsov, A., Nahorski, Z., & Zhao, J. (2024). pyMCMA: Uniformly distributed Pareto-front representation. SoftwareX 27 e101801. 10.1016/j.softx.2024.101801. Fiander, J., Walker, C., Rowlands, I.H., Devine-Wright, P., Wilson, C. , Soutar, I., & Gupta, R. (2024). Energy democracy, public participation, and support for local energy system change in Canada. Energy Research & Social Science 113 e103526. 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103526. Eker, S. , Lenton, T.M., Powell, T., Scheffran, J., Smith, S.R., Swamy, D., & Zimm, C. (2024). Cross-system interactions for positive tipping cascades. Earth System Dynamics 15 (3) 789-800. 10.5194/esd-15-789-2024.