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Policy Brief #07 December 2009. This briefing identifies the opportunities, risks, and challenges associated with efforts to expand solar energy capacity in North Africa to the point where it can make a significant contribution toward achieving emissions reductions targets. It is based on collaborative research between IIASA and PIK, the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Policy Brief #04, revised December 2009. Experts expect climate change to affect not just average temperature, but also weather variability and extreme weather events. The effects impose a disproportionate burden on vulnerable developing countries. How can insurance, including public–private arrangements, play a role in helping vulnerable countries adapt? This Policy Brief offers practical guidance to policymakers shaping the post-Copenhagen adaptation strategy.

Policy Brief #06,  March 2009. Officially public authorities do not negotiate with terrorists. However, governments frequently do end up negotiating with hostage takers and kidnappers and with political groups classified as terrorists. While this briefing does not necessarily advocate negotiating with terrorists, it outlines the practicalities of such negotiations, providing a guide to deciding how, when, and with whom to negotiate.

Policy Brief #05, February 2009. The research presented in this briefing is from IIASA’s Forestry Program and TIFAC, an autonomous organization under India’s Department of Science and Technology. It highlights the key issues facing the Indian forestry system, identifies major priorities and actions to help the Indian forestry system develop sustainably and meet future national needs. 

Policy Brief #03, August 2008. Recently published research carried out by IIASA in collaboration with the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences proves that education is a fundamental determinant not only of health, demographic trends, and individual income, but also of a country’s aggregate level of economic growth. This gives policymakers a new perspective on international education goals.

Policy Brief #02, December 2007, IIASA Conference '07. At its thirty-fifth anniversary conference, in November 2007, IIASA brought together scientists, policymakers, and thinkers to discuss Global Development: Science and Policies for the Future. The aim was a wide­-ranging discussion of what a sustainable and equitable future might look like, and how to get there. Foremost were research priorities and how IIASA might contribute. 

Policy Brief #01,  December 2007, highlights issues and challenges arising from uncertainty in estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, explores how this uncertainty can be dealt with, and points to the implications of uncertainty analysis for policymakers. The information contained in this briefing is from the Second International Workshop on Uncertainty in Greenhouse Gas Inventories, IIASA, 27–28 September 2007.