Digitalization has ushered in new markets worldwide and in BRICS countries. However, the concentration of market power and digital resources by only a handful of digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) has also triggered new governance challenges, particularly, for BRICS countries. As part of the dissemination process of the ECOANTITRUST initiative, Elena Rovenskaya delivered a presentation on the adoption of ecological insights and tools to improve understanding of the complex nature of digital platforms, their ecosystems, and their interactions with the wider economy.
In the age of digitalization, the dominance of digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) extends beyond concentration of product markets, impacting not only economic dynamics but also exerting influence on the broader well-being of individuals including its social and environmental dimensions. As private incentives often supersede social responsibilities even for the most powerful DPEs, competition regulators face the challenge to incorporate a broader concept of wellbeing and sustainability into their activities.
Elena Rovenskaya, Program Director of Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) delivered a keynote presentation on the best practices, policies, and infrastructures being developed to promote open science in a interdisciplinary research context at the workshop organized by Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF).
IIASA researchers contributed to a new international study that tested the extent to which global water models agree with each other and with observational data. Using a new evaluation approach, the researchers can show in which climate regions the models agree and where they differ.
As opportunities for foreign investments and international linkages for Central Asia grows, it provides a great window of opportunity for Kazakhstan to scope new means to revive its unused lands. In November, the Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) program showcased its preliminary findings on scaling carbon farming prospects in Kazakhstan in the capital city of Astana.
Without the implementation of nature-based solutions through actions such as halting deforestation and promoting large-scale native vegetation restoration, Brazil would jeopardize its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) pledges including achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050, according to a new study. The researchers also emphasize that stopping deforestation is the most important mitigation measure Brazil can take towards net zero while preventing biodiversity loss.
IIASA and the University of Wisconsin Madison's Energy, Analysis, and Policy (EAP) Program have a history of collaborating on impactful research and formalized their partnership in 2022 thanks in part to a generous donation from Wes and Ankie Foell. Wes Foell, EAP co-founder, completed modeling work for IIASA in the 1970’s, and hopes to see the collaboration continue to grow.
The land use, land use change, and forestry sector plays a strong role in achieving global climate targets, but a gap exists between how scientists and countries account for its emissions. A new study highlights how mitigation benchmarks change when assessing IPCC scenarios from a national inventory perspective, with net-zero timings arriving up to five years earlier and cumulative emissions to net-zero being 15-18% smaller.
As global temperatures break records, the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report finds that current pledges under the Paris Agreement put the world on track for a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels this century, pointing to the urgent need for increased climate action.
Amid an alarming surge in global habitat destruction and species extinction, new research by an international team of scientists proposes a new global approach to choosing protected lands which could reduce species extinction risk twice as efficiently as current methods.
The MOSAIC project conducted its second Project Partners Meeting, held from November 7th to 9th, 2023, in Innsbruck, Austria. This event was a convergence of in-person and virtual attendees, bringing together project partners from Austria, Slovenia, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
By how much did life expectancy fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic? A new study suggests that pandemics require a new method to accurately calculate life expectancy: “hybrid life expectancy” takes the duration of the pandemic into account, revealing that health crises have much smaller impact on life expectancy than previous studies have suggested.
IIASA researchers contributed to the latest edition of the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s World Energy Outlook, which shows that there are set to be almost 10 times as many electric cars on the road, renewables are nearing half of the global power mix, and much stronger policies are needed to achieve the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement.