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A new special issue of the Elsevier journal, Environmental Development, highlights pioneering research addressing the continent's most pressing environmental and development challenges. The issue is the result of an ongoing collaboration between IIASA and a growing network of African and international research partners, including the IIASA Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Member Organization (SSARMO).

A new climate initiative launched in Vorarlberg, Austria, aims to plant 50 trees for every child born in the region. The initiative, which will run under the patronage of IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, was introduced on 3 April in Rankweil.

The prestigious international forum took place from February 10 to 14 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. It brought together leading academics, policymakers, and industry experts to discuss critical global challenges in sustainability, food security, and risk management. It was also endorsed by international scientific associations in agricultural economics, agribusiness, engineering, and information research including European Association of Agricultural Economists, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, Associzzione Internazionale di Economia Alimentare e Agro-Industriale, International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and International Network for IT in Agriculture, Food and the Environment.

IIASA researchers are part of the organizing team for the Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2025 on 'Demographic Perspectives on Migration in the 21st Century,' which will take place from 19–21 November 2025 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria.

IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber was featured in the latest episode of the ORF podcast “Neues bei Neustädter” titled, Wo ist eigentlich der Klimaschutz? (Where is climate protection, actually?).

The European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to halt biodiversity loss and restore ecosystems, but what does this mean for Europe’s wood supply? In a new study, researchers examine how different modes of implementing the strategy’s conservation targets could influence forestry and the wood-based bioeconomy in the EU.

Researchers at IIASA are studying the direct and indirect effects of climate change on health, shedding light on healthy aging drivers and metrics and analyzing interconnections between the components of multi-dimensional national well-being.

Clean air is essential for health, yet many people, especially in low- and middle-income countries, breathe polluted air every day. IIASA researchers contributed advanced modeling tools and analyses to assess the feasibility and affordability of halving global exposure to high levels of outdoor air pollution by 2040 in a new World Bank Report.

The Wildfire Climate Impacts and Adaptation Model (FLAM) from the Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Group (AFE) will contribute to the Fire Model Intercomparison Project (FireMIP). This collaboration provides an opportunity for FLAM to engage with the broader fire science community and contribute to the advancement of global fire modeling. 

The World Aging Data Explorer (WADE) is a state-of-the-art platform that revolutionizes our understanding of global aging trends. WADE provides easy access to the innovative dynamic metrics of aging developed at IIASA. These metrics take the changing characteristics of people into account, thereby providing policymakers, researchers, and educators with a view of aging appropriate for our changing demographic environment.

On 20 March 2025, IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber delivered a keynote address at the First International Timber Construction Symposium in Berlin. His presentation, titled Climate Plan C: Atmospheric Restoration by Natural Means (Klimaplan C: Atmosphärenreparatur mit natürlichen Mitteln), emphasized the role of timber construction in tackling the climate crisis.

What is a fair way forward after the 1.5°C warming limit of the Paris Agreement has been breached?  In a new study, IIASA researchers explore the concept of ‘net-zero carbon debt’ — a measure for assessing who bears greater responsibility for minimizing the climate overshoot. 

A new report released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), highlights the urgent need for integrated policies to address air pollution and climate change across Southeast Asia. IIASA researchers contributed as authors of the first chapter, laying the foundation for science-based policy action.

On 19 March 2025, IIASA hosted a virtual workshop with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The event explored research and innovation opportunities to support Ethiopia’s strategic development goals, focusing on areas such as climate change, food security, and sustainable energy.

Zbigniew Klimont, who leads the Pollution Management Research Group in the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program, was invited to share the group's expertise in assisting cities to mitigate air pollution at a recent conference co-organized by the Hanoi People's Committee and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) - the IIASA National Member Organization for Vietnam and its scholarly community.

The Eurasian Carbon Project is deepening its cooperation with Kazakhstan as the country moves forward with national efforts to integrate carbon farming into its climate and land-use strategies.

Adaptation to climate change is becoming increasingly urgent, yet global assessments still struggle to answer pressing questions: Where will adaptation be most needed? Which actors must adapt, and what barriers stand in the way? These challenges were at the heart of the ‘Adaptation Pathways and Scenarios for Climate Change Research’ workshop, held from 17th to 21st February at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, Netherlands. 

People in informal settlements, urban deprived areas, refugee camps, prisons, and war zones can be particularly vulnerable to climate threats and natural hazards. A new study, led by IIASA researchers, explores how policymakers can ease their burden.

Want to contribute to the European Union’s climate neutrality target but not sure how? Join the latest Picture Pile campaign as part of IIASA’s LAMASUS project. Help us to identify livestock and grassland management practices from photographs, which will be used to validate a new geodatabase on land use management.

IIASA’s Population and Just Societies Program, in collaboration with the College of Population Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, is pleased to announce its upcoming annual intensive training course titled "Demographic Analysis with Applications to Aging and Health."