In a new study just published in the journal Nature Sustainability, an international team of scientists from the Earth Commission, convened by Future Earth, investigated the Earth system impacts of escaping poverty and achieving a dignified life for all. The research was inspired by discussions on potential trade-offs between achieving social and environmental goals.
Global carbon emissions in 2022 remain at record levels with no sign of the decrease that is urgently needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, according to the Global Carbon Project science team. If current emissions levels persist, there is now a 50% chance that global warming of 1.5°C will be exceeded in nine years.
On Thursday, 10 November 2022, Interim IIASA Deputy Director General for Science, Wolfgang Lutz, received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts in Demography from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of demography.
Europe needs healthy ecosystems that benefit biodiversity and people and are resilient to climate change. The Horizon Europe NaturaConnect Project will support European Union governments and other public and private institutions in designing a coherent, resilient and well-connected Trans-European Nature Network.
With COP27 underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the subject of climate-related losses and damages is once again expected to take center stage. IIASA contributed to a new policy brief by the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, of which IIASA is a member, which provides important facts, figures, and context that outline just how vital it is that progress is made on this issue.
The possibility of global temperatures exceeding the Paris Agreement 1.5°C target is rising every year. We already face the impact of climate change through often extreme weather conditions which threaten ecosystems and risk livelihoods. Yet, current plans to reach net-zero emissions targets do not go far enough to achieve the 1.5C target in time.
As the world faces enormous transposition of the economic, political, and environmental world order, Hungary seeks a golden opportunity to act as a bridge which fuses the two diverse continents of Asia and Europe. On 19 and 20 September, Budapest hosted internationally esteemed speakers and participants to discuss exactly such opportunities.
IIASA researchers have analyzed the discussion on eight different conspiracy theories that was spread widely on Twitter during the pandemic. Their work makes it possible to not only estimate the number of conspiracy related tweets, but also to compare the theories among themselves and identify patterns in their discussion.
IIASA researchers contributed to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s Living Planet Report 2022, which highlights the stark outlook of the state of nature and urgently warns governments, businesses, and the public to take transformative action to reverse the destruction of biodiversity.
Dealing with increasing fire frequencies in domestic mountain-dominated forest systems requires assessment and anticipation of fire risks at local scales, as well as a better understanding of its effects on the ecosystem and recreational activities. The Austria Fire Futures Project aims to address this critical situation.
The Land Management for Sustainability (LAMASUS) Project kicks off today and will provide tools and design processes allowing EU policymakers to assess the impacts of future land-use policies ahead of their implementation, and so make informed choices for European agriculture and land use, as well as the global climate.
The ForestNavigator (Navigating European forests and forest bioeconomy sustainably to EU climate neutrality) Project is a new ambitious pan-European research project coordinated by IIASA and funded under the Horizon Europe Program. It brings together 24 research institutions from 13 EU countries and China to support the European Commission and national authorities in designing robust sectoral policies addressing forests and the forest sector for achieving climate neutrality in the EU.
The SOS-Water Project, funded under the Horizon Europe scheme and coordinated by IIASA, will create a holistic and participatory assessment framework of a Safe Operating Space (SOS) for the entire water resources system to inform global and regional water management policies and pathways.
H.E. Dato' Sri Dr. Adham bin Baba, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Malaysia, a former IIASA member country, visited the IIASA premises in Laxenburg to meet with IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld on 25 September 2022 to discuss the IIASA research agenda and ways to strengthen scientific cooperation between IIASA and Malaysia.