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Elina Brutschin

Senior Research Scholar

Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions Research Group

Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Biography

Elina Brutschin joined the Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions Research Group of the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program as a research scholar in 2019. Her research integrates political economy insights with global integrated assessment models (IAMs) to address climate and energy transition challenges. She is particularly focused on fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and engaging stakeholders to develop comprehensive climate solutions.

Before joining IIASA, Brutschin was an assistant professor of International Relations at Webster Vienna Private University. She holds a PhD in political science from Konstanz University, Germany (2013/2014), where she researched the liberalization of the European gas market. Additionally, she completed a postgraduate degree in EU Multi-Level Governance at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, Austria.

Recently, Brutschin has focused on developing tools to evaluate the feasibility of ambitious climate scenarios, considering both technical and political dimensions. She has contributed to several high-profile projects, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, where she supported the scenario database and served as a contributing author. Her recent publications examine public support for climate technologies, the feasibility of temperature targets, and justice considerations in climate research, with articles published in Nature Climate Change, Global Environmental Change and Environmental Research Letters.

Through her work, Brutschin seeks to bridge the gap between science and policy, ensuring that her contributions remain both relevant and impactful in addressing global climate challenges. She is actively involved in the organization and delivery of high-level, interactive presentations at key international climate negotiation and science-policy exchange events, such as the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). As part of this work, she presents latest scientific findings and facilitates dialogue with stakeholders to ensure that research is aligned with real-world policy needs.

Last update: 07 MAY 2025

Publications

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Pereira, L., Gibson, M.F., Abrams, J.F., Brutschin, E. , Cardenas, J.C., Cheung, W.W.L., Claudet, J., Cornell, S.E., Daioglou, V., Durán, A.P., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Harrison, P.A., Hebden, S., Johnson, J.A., Jouffray, J.-B., Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S., Keys, P.W., Kim, H., Kok, M.T.J., Lundquist, C.J., Lenton, T.M., Mason-D’Croz, D., McElwee, P., Munera-Roldan, C., Nakicenovic, N. , Norström, A.V., Nyasulu, M.K., Peterson, G.D., Pinho, P., Popp, A., Riahi, K. , Sumaila, U.R., Tobian, A., Winkelmann, R., Wunderling, N., van Vuuren, D., Vervoort, J., & Zimm, C. (2026). Solving science conundrums in the climate-nature-equity polycrisis with integrated transformative scenarios. One Earth 9 (5) e101710. 10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101710.

Leininger, J., Buhaug, H., Gilmore, E., Lindberg, S.I., Andrijevic, M. , & Brutschin, E. (2026). Climate futures require politics. Nature Communications 17 (1) 10.1038/s41467-026-71711-6.

Scheifinger, K. , Brutschin, E. , Mintz-Woo, K. , Zimm, C. , Kikstra, J. , Rogelj, J. , Żebrowski, P. , Schinko, T. , Pachauri, S. , Sovacool, B., Fritz, L., & Riahi, K. (2026). Exploring patterns of distributional justice in global climate change mitigation scenarios. npj Climate Action 5 (1) e39. 10.1038/s44168-026-00364-4.

Pachauri, S. , Brutschin, E. , Gidden, M.J. , Hasegawa, T., Hejazi, M., Jiang, K., Kikstra, J.S. , Krey, V. , Lamb, W.F., Mintz-Woo, K. , Nauels, A. , Pelz, S. , Rogelj, J. , Roy, J., Schaeffer, R., Scheifinger, K. , Sokona, Y., Tavoni, M., van Ruijven, B. , Vinca, A. , Vishwanathan, S.S., Zimm, C. , & Riahi, K. (2026). Advancing representations of equity and justice in climate mitigation futures. PLOS Climate 5 (2) e0000763. 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000763.

Edwards, M.R, Geden, O., Gidden, M.J., Lamb, W.F., Minx, J.C., Nemet, G.F., Smith, S.M., Bellamy, R., Brutschin, E. , Diaz Anadon, L., Fuss, S., Grassi, G., Johnstone, I., Lebling, K., Lunstrum, A., Müller-Hansen, F., Portugal-Pereira, J., Probst, B., & Vaughan, N.E. (2026). The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal - 3rd Edition (2026). OSF 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZRD65.