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IIASA recently instituted a new system of awards to recognize outstanding contributions towards meeting the strategic priorities and values of the institute. We are proud to announce that five IIASA research activities have been recognized in the inaugural 2022 award cycle.

MIND STEP addresses the Work Programme Topic RUR-04-2018-2019, contributing to Rural Renaissance by further developing analytical tools and models to support policies related to agriculture and food. 

Between 2010 and 2019, average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of the success of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

The joint project “Integrated modeling for robust management of food-energy-water-land use nexus security and sustainable development” between National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine (NASU), and IIASA for the period from 2022 to 2026 is the continuation and the new stage of the joint NASU-IIASA project “Integrated robust management of food-energy-water-land-social nexus for sustainable development” completed in the period from 2017 to 2021 (IIASA Policy brief, 2017; Zagorodny et al., 2013, 2014, 2018, 2020). In the new research period, we address urgent problems of integrated modeling and policy analysis through models’ linkage and distributed optimization of disintegrated distributed food-water-energy-environmental models, precautionary and adaptive dealing with systemic risks and their implications for Food-Energy-Water-Environmental-Social (FEWES) systems security NEXUS management in Ukraine and globally.

Many countries have set carbon neutrality as a policy goal, but according to a new study by an international team of researchers from IIASA, Japan, and the US, there are various risks associated with the reduction of greenhouse gases, especially in the agriculture, forestry, and land use sectors, that need to be considered when formulating mitigation strategies.

The H2020 project ALTERNATE (Assessment of alternative aviation fuels development) brings together an interdisciplinary consortium of world leading experts in the field of air transport, engine certification and alternative fuels both from Europe and China, to provide synergy of the potential climate change mitigation strategies based on the use of alternative jet fuel pathways.

Policy Brief #33, January 2022. Action on biodiversity loss can be much more effective if it embraces other global challenges.

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.

How effective is the promotion of low-meat diets at reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to carbon pricing when the effectiveness of mitigation policies is measured against methane’s long-term behavior? An international team of researchers explored how focusing either on the short- or long-term warming effects of methane can affect climate mitigation policies and dietary transitions in agriculture.

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

Options Winter 2021: Renewable energies such as wind power will be increasingly important for a net-zero future. IIASA participated in a study that looked at the impacts of wind power expansion in Brazil and explored possibilities to reduce the environmental risks.

Online workshop for the the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) Strategic Partnerships for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPIPA) China project.

IIASA is proud to announce that 12 researchers from across various IIASA programs have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ list from Clarivate.

A new IIASA-led policy brief highlights the need to consider climate change adaptation in global trade agendas to avoid jeopardizing the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.

Ensuring China’s future food security will have huge environmental impacts, both domestically and globally. A study by IIASA researchers and Chinese colleagues shows that carefully designed policies across the whole of China’s food system, including international trade, are crucial to ensuring that future demand can be satisfied without destroying the environment.

Frank Sperling shares his reflections on issues around sustainable and transformational food production in the context of the UN Food Systems Summit.

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 European Commission (EC) has prepared a set of proposals revising EU climate, energy, and transport-related legislation, the so-called 'Fit for 55 package', aiming to deliver the EU's 2030 climate target on its way to climate neutrality in 2050. IIASA research is part of the scientific backbone that underlies the strategies laid out in the package.

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in partnership with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and EuroCARE, is leading the EU-BIOCLIMA project: European Union Biodiversity and Climate strategies Assessment.

ALTERFOR explores the potential to optimize forest management models currently in use in different forested areas in European countries. The international consortium of scientists and forestry practitioners will examine alternative forest management models in ten case study areas. Each area represents different forest management practices and socio-ecological conditions across Europe.