Search

Population structure and dynamics are directly interlinked with economic development. The new Fact Sheet Economic Demography developed by researchers from IIASA and the Wittgenstein Centre puts the economic consequences of demographic changes into perspective, showing a realistic picture of challenges and opportunities in the future.

In recent years, crowdsourcing, which involves recruiting members of the public to help collect data, has been tremendously helpful to provide researchers with unique and rich datasets, while also engaging the public in the process of scientific discovery. In a new study, an international team of researchers explored how crowdsourcing projects can make the most effective use of volunteer contributions.

IIASA has joined international science organizations across the world to sign the Science in Exile Declaration in support of at-risk, displaced, and refugee scientists.

The reciprocal relationships between human populations and the environment becomes increasingly important in the light of climate change. Researchers from IIASA and Wittgenstein Centre published the Fact Sheet Climate Change and Demography, providing information for policy makers and scientists about some key areas where demography can contribute to climate research.

IIASA recently instituted a new system of awards to recognize outstanding contributions towards meeting the strategic priorities and values of the institute. We are proud to announce that five IIASA research activities have been recognized in the inaugural 2022 award cycle.

Despite successes in reducing poverty globally in the last two decades, almost one billion people are still living without access to reliable and affordable electricity, which in turn negatively affects health and welfare, and impedes sustainable development. Knowing where these people are is crucial if aid and infrastructure are to reach them. A new IIASA-led study proposes a novel method to estimate global economic wellbeing using nighttime satellite images.

IIASA is proud to announce that Energy, Climate, and Environment Program Director, Keywan Riahi has been elected as a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) ̶ Austria’s largest non-university research and science institution.

Researchers from the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program found that agricultural efforts in downstream countries in Central Asia, traditionally hampered by a lack of water for irrigation during the summer growing season, would be significantly boosted with a “dual water and energy storage scheme”, which also paves the way for high shares of renewable energy generation in the region.

In 2021, the fairSTREAM project was selected as one of the first high impact Strategic Initiatives at IIASA. Below is an update on what the project has achieved to date.

Senior IIASA researcher and Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) Scientific Coordinator, Brian Fath, has received the 2022 University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in research, scholarship, and creativity.

The project, Just Transitions to Net-zero Carbon Emissions for All (JustTrans4All), was selected in 2021 as one of the first two IIASA Strategic Initiatives. The project kicked off in September 2021 and aims to contribute to novel analyses of transition pathways that reflect justice concerns.  

There is an increasing awareness in the scientific community that open-source scientific software is an integral requirement for open science, increasing transparency, and the reproducibility of research findings. Two manuscripts by IIASA researchers presenting state-of-the-art developments furthering these goals were recently recognized by the scientific journals where these works were published.

For the future of humanity, nations must make every effort to find a diplomatic road to peace in Ukraine, and the West should maintain its critical links with Russian science, according to two letters signed by the IIASA Director General.

A working group consisting of Austrian, German, and Swiss meteorological services and various federal, regional, and climate research institutes has presented a recommendation on a standardized German-language description of the illustrative climate change scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

IIASA’s Population and Just Societies (POPJUS) Program together with the Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program hosted the INQUIMUS workshop series entitled "Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?" An interdisciplinary group of thirty international researchers and practitioners convened at IIASA for the INQUIMUS 2022 conference from 29-31 March.  

Between 2010 and 2019, average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of the success of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program Director Keywan Riahi and Joeri Rogelj, a senior researcher at the institute, have been appointed to the new European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. This new independent advisory body will provide scientific advice to underpin climate action and efforts by the European Union (EU) to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

To combat forest loss in the tropics, a new study uses crowdsourcing to identify the drivers of deforestation. The resulting dataset can be used to create high-resolution maps and help policymakers apply the best protection measures.

National biodiversity monitoring programs in Europe face many challenges, according to the first report of the Europe-wide EuropaBON project released today. The analysis includes data from more than 350 experts from policy, science, and environmental protection practice. The team is also drafting a proposal for a transnational monitoring of Europe's biodiversity and ecosystems.

Deforestation continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate change. Countries all over the world have instituted protected areas, but there is still mounting human pressure on many of these areas. A new study looks at tropical deforestation and the key factors driving it.