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Boreal forests often bring to mind a winter wonderland: spruce and pine forests as far as the eye can see, fluffy snow dotted with reindeer beneath a nighttime sky brightened by the aurora borealis. Climate change threatens this fragile, pristine habitat that spans 8 countries in the far north. Now boreal forests are associated not just with snowy landscapes, they are becoming synonymous with raging wildfires and massive plumes of smoke, such as those found currently in Canada. Mitigating the threats posed by climate change in this unique ecosystem and discussing the most recent boreal-related research is the focus of the International Boreal Forest Association conference. Organized in large part by IIASA’s own Florian Kraxner, IBFRA 2023 was held in Helsinki, Finland, where researchers from around the globe gathered to discuss recent findings, foster new connections, and contribute to a plan of attack to save boreal forests as we know them.

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2023 kicked off at the UN Headquarters in New York this week. IIASA is involved in several capacities at this international conference to support policymakers in countries around the world with science-based inputs to help them develop effective policies to address the interconnected global challenges and opportunities society faces today.

IIASA research informed the recently announced Final Renewable Fuels Standards Rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding biofuel volume requirements and percentage standards for 2023–2025. The rule establishes biofuel volume requirements and associated percentage standards in view of steady growth of biofuel use in the US's fuel supply and aims to ensure a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy future.

In May, IIASA proudly welcomed alumni of its former Resources and Environment Area (REN) and Environment Program (ENV) who worked at the institute in the 1970s and 1980s.

IIASA Scientific Advisory Committee member, Elke Weber, has received the Patrick Suppes Prize of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the USA, for her work on advancing the understanding of how people make important decisions in real-world environments.

New research finds a high variation between how pandemic mitigation measures affected immigration to different destination countries, from a slight increase to huge reductions.

A new study argues that expanding health insurance coverage can drive medical progress, support wellbeing, and even extend lifespan in the United States.

Due to the uncertainty of the timing of vaccine approval at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers struggled to find the best mitigation measures. In a new study, researchers analyzed how the expectation of a vaccine influences optimal lockdown measures.

IIASA Distinguished Visiting Fellow and longtime collaborator, Jeffrey Sachs, has received this year’s prestigious Tang Prize in Sustainable Development for his contributions to the establishment and promotion of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The carbon stock in managed boreal forest landscapes is increasing, while it is relatively unchanged in less intensively utilized forests where carbon losses due to forest fires have instead been significant during 1990-2017, according to a new report by the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA).

After more than 40 years of collaboration, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and IIASA have established a formal partnership on a variety of policy-relevant projects related to energy, climate, air quality, and more.

Adopting policies that are consistent with achieving the Paris Agreement and prioritize health, could annually save 6.4 million lives due to healthier diets, 1.6 million lives due to cleaner air, and 2.1 million lives due to increased physical activity, according to new research.

IIASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) in partnership with the Wilson Center, the Earth Day Network and the US State Department are providing citizens with an opportunity to get involved in one of the world’s most challenging problems: how to provide enough, high quality, nutritious food to the ever expanding global population.

As the world economy is falling into one of the biggest contractions of the last decades, a new study of economic recession patterns finds that the likelihood of a downturn was high even before the onset of the Coronavirus crisis.