The EU agri-food system is increasingly threatened by climate change while accounting for roughly one-third of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. A new report by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, with contributions from IIASA researchers, warns that current policies are insufficient to address rising climate risks and meet EU climate targets.
Elisa Calliari, a Senior Research Scholar in the Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group of the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for a new project investigating how climate change reshapes the habitability of places and how societies respond.
IIASA recently welcomed Distinguished Visiting Fellow Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), for a lecture on the importance of gender and social inclusion in forest and landscape governance and an interdisciplinary discussion on equity and sustainability.
In a new commentary, two deeply rooted assumptions in global demographic debates are challenged: that fertility will rebound as societies develop, and that “replacement-level fertility” is an ideal to be pursued. Drawing on the latest evidence, the authors show that neither view is supported by available data and argue that persistently low fertility can be sustainable and even economically desirable.
IIASA contributed to a new European roadmap for biodiversity monitoring through its involvement in the Horizon 2020 project, EuropaBON. The study, proposes a comprehensive roadmap to build a modern, integrated Biodiversity Observation Network (BON) for Europe that could become a global model for biodiversity monitoring in the 21st century.
As Europe faces increasingly severe climate impacts, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change is calling on the EU to urgently strengthen its policy framework for effective and coherent adaptation. A new report, with contributions from IIASA researchers, highlights that adaptation and mitigation must advance together to safeguard Europe’s future.
How do people respond when the impacts of climate change hit close to home? A new study by IIASA and CMCC from the EU-funded project Adaptation AGORA (A Gathering place to cO-design and co-cReate Adaptation) reveals a striking paradox: while citizens in Catalonia show deep skepticism toward climate adaptation policies, they also demonstrate a “strong willingness to take action themselves”.
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) convened the virtual workshop “Prospects of Carbon Farming in Greater Central Asia” to examine pathways for implementing carbon farming across the region. The event brought together scientists, policymakers, and practitioners to exchange evidence, share experience, and discuss pragmatic approaches to advancing carbon farming and related land-based climate solutions.
A new study sheds light on how farmer-led collaboration can help create the conditions to address biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes. The research looks at “farmer clusters” – groups of farmers working together across landscapes to support biodiversity-sensitive farming – and explores how these collaborative initiatives evolve over time, what shapes their success, and why some mature more effectively than others.
Climate change research continued to feature prominently in news and social media feeds throughout 2025. IIASA researchers contributed to seven out of the 25 most mentioned papers in news and social media feeds; one is even the most featured paper ranking at #1 - congratulations to all the authors!