Adriana Gomez Sanabria
Senior Research Scholar
Pollution Management Research Group
Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Biography
Adriana Gomez Sanabria joined IIASA in June 2015 and is currently a senior research scholar in the Pollution Management Research Group of the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program.She holds a PhD in Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Austria, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental and health engineering from La Salle University, Colombia.
Her research focuses on assessing the environmental co-benefits of implementing circular waste and wastewater management systems at global, regional, and national levels. She develops and applies the GAINS model to evaluate the impact of policy interventions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutants, and water contamination arising from the waste and wastewater sectors.
Specific relevant expertise:
- Global, regional, and national assessments of air pollutants and GHG emissions from the solid waste and wastewater sectors
- Assessment of co-benefits from global adoption of circular waste management systems to mitigate GHGs and air pollutants
- GHG mitigation potentials in the solid waste and wastewater sector in the context of the 1.5°C targets.
Last update: 14 MAY 2025
Publications
World Bank (2025). Accelerating Access to Clean Air for a Livable Planet. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank , Washington, DC.
Klimont, Z. , Kiesewetter, G. , Schöpp, W. , Gomez Sanabria, A. , Rafaj, P. , Purohit, P. , Borken-Kleefeld, J. , Wagner, F. , Heyes, C. , Höglund-Isaksson, L. , Nguyen, B. , Sander, R. , & Warnecke, L. (2025). Chapter 1: Bringing Clean Air, Better Health, A Stable Climate and Other Benefits to the ASEAN Region. In: Clean Air and Climate Solutions for ASEAN. Eds. United Nations Environment Programme, pp. 1-17 United Nations Environment Programme. ISBN 9789280742138 10.59117/20.500.11822/47268.
European Commission & Directorate-General for Environment (2025). Support to the development of the fourth clean air outlook – Final report. Publications Office of the European Union , Luxembourg. doi/10.2779/8768689.
Purohit, P. , Kiesewetter, G. , Schöpp, W. , Wagner, F. , Klimont, Z. , Heyes, C. , Gomez Sanabria, A. , Srivastava, P., Borken-Kleefeld, J. , & Amann, M. (2024). Cost-effective control of air pollution in South Asia: modeling and policy applications. Environmental Research Communications 6 (12) e125017. 10.1088/2515-7620/ad9b74.
Bagheri, M., Gomez Sanabria, A. , & Höglund-Isaksson, L. (2024). Economic feasibility and direct greenhouse gas emissions from different phosphorus recovery methods in Swedish wastewater treatment plants. Sustainable Production and Consumption 49 462-473. 10.1016/j.spc.2024.07.007.