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An IIASA delegation visited Egypt from 11–12 December 2025 including Deputy Director General Karen Lips and IIASA Water Security Research Group Leader, Taher Kahil, who participated in the Innovation Research Commercialization Expo (IRC 2025) and met with representatives of Egypt’s Institute of National Planning.

A delegation from CzechGlobe – the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences – visited IIASA on 10 December 2025 to explore opportunities for deepening scientific cooperation. 

The Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE) Program will host the fifth MESSAGE Community Meeting in May 2026. The meeting brings together researchers working on integrated assessment and/or energy system modeling using open source software including MESSAGEix.

The International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum (IVECF 2026), to be convened on 9-10 April 2026 at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace, comes at a pivotal moment. As the world races to deliver on sustainable development, energy, and climate goals, growing concerns over international security and stability emphasize the urgent need for inclusive and integrated solutions as well as the need to provide climate justice.

On 3 December 2025, H.E. Ambassador Giovanni Pugliese and Scientific Counselor Amedeo Staiano of the Italian Embassy in Austria visited IIASA for discussions on strengthening scientific engagement between Italy and the Institute.

Africa is taking a leading role in shaping global dialogues by empowering researchers, institutions, and policymakers to influence decision-making and co-develop evidence, based solutions to shared challenges. At the heart of this effort lies systems analysis, a powerful approach for understanding and addressing the complex interconnections between food, energy, water, and climate systems.

End to Begin, a multidisciplinary theater play by IIASA alumna Gloria Benedikt, which addresses the state and future of the planet and how humans live on it, is returning to the Odeon Theater in Vienna from 26-29 January 2026 for a series of public and school performances.

IIASA recently hosted an exploratory workshop titled, Together for water: Fostering collaboration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The two-day event brought together around 50 representatives from international organizations, civil society organizations, research institutions, and diplomatic missions to explore new pathways for transboundary collaboration on water challenges across the region.

This seminar aims to deepen collaboration between IIASA and Comenius University, building on the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, and strengthening engagement with the Institute's Slovak National Member Organization. Taking place while applications for the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) are open, it offers students and faculty a timely opportunity to learn more about IIASA and explore pathways for involvement.

Boreal forests - the vast green belt encircling the northern hemisphere - are undergoing rapid transformation. This webinar will explore new research on the changing dynamics of the boreal biome, what these shifts mean for global climate feedbacks, and how remote sensing helps us understand the future of one of Earth’s most important ecosystems.

In October, IIASA welcomed a high-level delegation from the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) for an in-depth exchange on advancing systems analysis and environmental solutions. The visit marked an important step toward strengthening collaboration between IIASA and CRAES on global and regional sustainability challenges.

Martin Lees, Chair of the OECD-IIASA Strategic Partnership on Systems Approaches, returned to IIASA earlier this month to deliver a thought-provoking lecture, revisiting the origins and future of systems thinking in international policymaking and reflecting on decades of collaboration between IIASA and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

IIASA researcher Felicity Addo reflects on how a simple holiday home to Ghana unfolded into a journey of teaching, learning, and building connections that highlight Africa's potential for science-driven transformation.  

IIASA will host the first author meeting of the upcoming Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Spatial Planning and Connectivity Assessment in Laxenburg, Austria from 22-26 September. The meeting will bring together experts from around the world to begin work on the assessment, which will examine how spatial planning can integrate biodiversity and human wellbeing.

IIASA and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration at the intersection of health and climate research. Building on their complementary expertise, the two institutions will join forces to develop innovative approaches that address some of today’s most pressing global challenges.

Convened by the African Union and the Ethiopian Government, the Second Africa Climate Summit will provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, businesses and civil society to advance Africa’s climate agenda and sustainable development priorities. IIASA Strategic Initiatives Program Director Steffen Fritz, will contribute his expertise to discussions at the event as part of a session titled, Leveraging AI to Build Climate Resilience and Adaptive Capacity.

IIASA, UKRI and the Royal Society bring together scientific leaders from the UK and IIASA's global networks to strengthen the UK’s strategic engagement with IIASA across science, policy, and diplomacy, identifying high-impact collaborative opportunities to drive lasting solutions to global challenges.

IIASA Deputy Director General Karen Lips represented the Institute at last week’s Austria–Vietnam High-Technology and Innovation Forum in Vienna. Following her participation in a high-level panel discussion on digital transformation, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) to boost collaboration in AI and digital transformation.

Wealthy individuals have a higher carbon footprint. A new study published in Nature Climate Change quantifies the climate outcomes of these inequalities. It finds that the world’s wealthiest 10% are responsible for two thirds of observed global warming since 1990 and the resulting increases in climate extremes such as heatwaves and droughts.

IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program Director, Petr Havlík, has been awarded an honorary doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) by KU Leuven, one of Europe’s most renowned universities, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to global research in agricultural, food, climate, and environmental economics.