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Storing greater amounts of water in Brazil’s reservoirs could increase precipitation and river flow, alleviating the water and energy supply crisis in Brazil.

Environmental targets to limit excess nitrogen require the large-scale deployment of dedicated nitrogen mitigation strategies to avoid a strong increase in the risk of food insecurity. Without these measures, the amount of dietary energy available to people would be greatly reduced, which would in turn lead to high food prices and an increase in the number of undernourished people.

The social cost of carbon dioxide is one of the most influential indicators of climate change as it allows us to estimate the cost of greenhouse gas emissions to humanity. A new study looks back on how ten years of scientific advancements have influenced such estimates, and explores how to resolve some of the most important outstanding gaps in existing models.

For many, an increase in living standards would require an increase in energy provision. At the same time, meeting current climate goals under the Paris Agreement would benefit from lower energy use. IIASA researchers have assessed how much energy is needed to provide the global poor with a decent life and have found that this can be reconciled with efforts to meet climate targets.

Using a novel modeling approach, new research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals the location and intensity of key threats to biodiversity on land and identifies priority areas across the world to help inform conservation decision making at national and local levels.

IIASA researchers have contributed to a study that provides a new model to monitor and predict food insecurity in the coming decade. It finds that while overall global levels of food insecurity are set to decrease an increase is implied for lower income countries.

We are collectively failing to conserve the world’s biodiversity and to mobilize natural solutions to help curb global warming. A new study carried out by the Nature Map Consortium, shows that managing a strategically placed 30% of land for conservation could safeguard 70% of all considered terrestrial plant and vertebrate animal species, while simultaneously conserving more than 62% of the world’s above and below ground vulnerable carbon, and 68% of all clean water. 

A new scientific article outlines how to undertake the much needed expansion and modernization of Africa’s electricity sector. The article highlights the crucial role that international partnerships such as the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative have to play in achieving this goal.

Access to modern, reliable, and affordable energy services is a must for development and ensuring a decent quality of life. IIASA researchers used a novel bottom-up approach to analyze how access to energy services may evolve over time under different scenarios of socioeconomic growth and policy scenarios that meet climate mitigation goals.

Air pollution in India is generated more by the wealthy, while the poor suffer most of the health impact, according to a study by five IIASA researchers published in Nature Sustainability.

IIASA researchers and international colleagues explored the potential of using finely ground rock to help with the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere on the road to achieving net-zero emissions and keeping global warming below 1.5°C.

More than 820 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat, while climate change and increasing competition for land and water are further raising concerns about the future balance between food demand and supply. The results of a new IIASA-led study can be used to benchmark global food security projections and inform policy analysis and public debate on the future of food.

Hydropower has massive potential as a source of clean electricity, and the Indus basin can be a key player in fulfilling long-term energy storage demands across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. IIASA researchers explored the role the Indus basin could play to support global sustainable development.

According to the World Health Organization, a third wave of COVID infections is now all but inevitable in Europe. A COVID tracker developed by IIASA researcher Asjad Naqvi, aims to identify, collect, and collate various official regional datasets for European countries, while also combining and homogenizing the data to help researchers and policymakers explore how the virus spreads.

IIASA is part of a project funded under the Belmont Forum’s joint Collaborative Research Action on Pathways to Sustainability to develop and apply an indicator system for measuring sustainability in the agricultural sector that will close existing knowledge gaps and facilitate decision making for more sustainable agricultural production.

As atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ continue to rise, we are putting future generations at risk of having to deal with a massive carbon debt. IIASA researchers and international colleagues are calling for immediate action to establish responsibility for carbon debt by implementing carbon removal obligations, for example, during the upcoming revision of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Digital platforms are changing the way we do business. IIASA has been involved in a six-year research project to understand the consequences of this shift, including how platforms can improve resilience in an uncertain world.

Earlier this week, the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) delivered a Scientific Opinion on a systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe in which they provide policy recommendations on how the commission can contribute, accelerate, and facilitate the clean energy transition at the European and global level.

Each year, disasters force millions of people to move from their homes, with profound human and financial consequences, and climate change is making the situation worse. But recent work involving novel modeling and new data makes it possible to assess these risks and prepare for them.

Russia is the world’s largest forest country. Being home to more than a fifth of forests globally, the country’s forests and forestry have enormous potential to contribute to making a global impact in terms of climate mitigation. A new study by IIASA researchers, Russian experts, and other international colleagues have produced new estimates of biomass contained in Russian forests, confirming a substantial increase over the last few decades.