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Sustaining Biodiversity: A Challenge for Science and Policy

This two-day event in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences will begin with an evening event on 16 November 2022 that demonstrates how systems analysis can contribute to solving many of today’s global challenges as well as explore the future of this transdisciplinary field. The second day will feature a major international conference on systems analysis.

IIASA 50th anniversary celebrations will include a conference hosted by the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and IIASA. The event will build on the expertise and interlinkages between the system analysts’ communities in Asia to discuss and analyze transformative approaches to achieving sustainability across multiple stakeholder, sectors and regions.

In June 2021 IIASA was granted Observer status to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

In November 2019, IIASA cohosted the annual global meeting of science advisors to ministers of foreign affairs and other experts to discuss pressing issues in science diplomacy.

IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld has led a delegation to Jordan to consolidate collaboration with the country's scientific leaders and research communities.

Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released today.

IIASA is participating in the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) conference Science Advice Under Pressure in Brussels. This participation includes eminent speakers from the IIASA network as well as a policy simulation that explores international negotiations through an immersive role-play experience highlighting the roles of science advice. 

The world is not on track to achieve all the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and more insight into how we can get back on track is urgently needed. An article by an international team of scientists proposes a more limited set of more easily measurable targets that can be used in scenario analysis for achieving all of the SDGs by the target date.

Halting, then reversing the ongoing loss of Earth’s plant and animal diversity requires far more than an expanded global system of protected areas of land and seas, scientists warn. What is needed, is successful, coordinated action across a diverse, interconnected set of transformative changes, including massive reductions in harmful agricultural and fishing subsidies, deep reductions in overconsumption, and holding climate change to 1.5°C.

IIASA Regional Conference "Systems Analysis in Asia" will take place on 20-22 October 2021 as a hybrid event, combining online and in person attendance. The physical part of the meeting will be hosted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. 

IIASA researcher Thomas Schinko discusses the visionless outcomes of the recent UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow and an Austrian project he is involved in, which aims to co-create courageous and positive visions for a low-carbon and climate resilient future.

A study found that older Europeans are more likely to stick to pandemic rules if they think they are unhealthier than they actually are.

IIASA Deputy Director for Science, Leena Srivastava, will give a keynote speech at the National Institute for Environmental Studies International Forum, recommending pathways to provide scientific evidence to feed into societal decision-making processes to improve the state of the environment.

Addressing global challenges such as sustainable development, climate justice, and the pandemic recovery requires coordinated systemic research. IIASA Deputy Director General for Science Leena Srivastava will discuss setting impactful and relevant research agendas in a constantly evolving global context, during the 4th IIASA Public Webinar.

IIASA Deputy Director General for Science Leena Srivastava will participate in a high-level round table co-organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management Ministry of Home Affairs, India, to discuss how science, technology, and innovation policy can reduce disaster risk in India.

In collaboration with the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and the Institute of National Planning, IIASA is proud to announce the launch of the North Africa Applied Systems Analysis Center (NAASAC).

Stefan Frank discusses a recent study that looked into the impacts of ambitious EU agricultural mitigation policies on the livelihoods of farmers.

Climate change disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable populations. Not only are these effects compounding and magnifying existing inequalities, but the impacts will increase in severity over time, affecting both current and future generations. A new international study shows that the redistribution of revenues from a carbon tax can promote equity and protect marginalized populations.

The new Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna H.E. Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien has paid an introductory visit to IIASA.