Edward Byers

Edward Byers is a research scholar in the Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE) Program (Integrated Assessment and Climate Change research group), with research interests in infrastructure systems, water and climate change risks, the water-energy nexus, development economics and vulnerability. He joined IIASA in 2016, as an IIASA Postdoctoral Research Fellow in both the Energy and Water programs. Dr Byers' research at IIASA is on climate change impacts to the energy and water sectors using global impact, hydrological and integrated assessment models. This has subsequently contributed to various recent publications on global climate hotspots, seasonal pumped storage, electricity access, hydro-climate risks to electricity sector, cooling demands and the cooling gap, water-energy-land nexus in the Indus basin, among others(Google Scholar).

Most prominently, he led the global climate and vulnerability hotspots assessment and development of www.hotspots-explorer.org as part of the GEF-IIASA-UNIDO funded project on Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land - work that has featured in Nature and the New York Times. This work has continued through various projects and applications, including technical assistance to countries via the Green Climate Fund.

He was contributing author to various chapters of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on 1.5C, 2019 IPCC Special Report on Climate Change on Land and in the ongoing IPCC 6th Assessment Report in Working Group III. He currently coordinates the collection and management of the climate mitigation scenarios database in support of WGIII as a chapter scientist.

Dr. Byers is an associate deputy editor for the journal Climatic Change. At IIASA, he is a staff-elected member of the Scientific Leadership Committee. Previous work includes water use of electricity pathways, climate impacts on CCS power plants, climate impacts on capacity expansion modeling, catchment hydrology and simulation of water withdrawal licensing regimes.

Dr. Byers joined IIASA from the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford where he investigated economic impacts of drought on the energy sector in the UK. Dr. Byers' PhD research at Newcastle University investigated current and future water use of the UK electricity sector, assessed at national, regional and catchment scales, and contributed to activities of the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium. Previously, he he trained as a civil and environmental engineer (M.Eng, Newcastle). He was lead author of Working Paper 9 (Energy: coal, oil, gas, and nuclear) to the LWEC Climate Risks to Infrastructure Report Card (2014), and also performed similar climate risk analysis in consultancy with the national power producer of Turkey (2014-15). Dr. Byers was on the DECC Youth Advisory Panel in 2011, from 2012-2014 he was Scientific Officer of the Planet Earth Institute and from 2014-2016 was Energy Topic Editor of Global Water Forum.


Last update: 07 JAN 2021

Willaarts, B. , Vinca, A. , Parkinson, S. , Riahi, K. , Byers, E. , & Heyl, A. (2021). Cooperation and joint investments are key to sustainable development in the Indus basin. IIASA Policy Brief. Laxenburg, Austria: PB-28

Vinca, A. , Parkinson, S. , Riahi, K. , Byers, E. , Siddiqi, A., Muhammad, A., Ilyas, A., Yogeswaran, N., et al. (2020). Transboundary cooperation a potential route to sustainable development in the Indus basin. Nature Sustainability 10.1038/s41893-020-00654-7.

Yalew, S.G., van Vliet, M.T.H., Gernaat, D.E.H.J., Ludwig, F., Miara, A., Park, C., Byers, E. , De Cian, E., et al. (2020). Impacts of climate change on energy systems in global and regional scenarios. Nature Energy 5, 794-802. 10.1038/s41560-020-0664-z.

Byers, E.A. , Coxon, G., Freer, J., & Hall, J.W. (2020). Drought and climate change impacts on cooling water shortages and electricity prices in Great Britain. Nature Communications 11 (1), e2239. 10.1038/s41467-020-16012-2.

Falchetta, G., Pachauri, S. , Byers, E. , Danylo, O., & Parkinson, S.C. (2020). Satellite Observations Reveal Inequalities in the Progress and Effectiveness of Recent Electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. One Earth 2 (4), 364-379. 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.03.007.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , Wada, Y. , Parkinson, S. , Gernaat, D.E.H.J., Langan, S. , van Vuuren, D.P., & Riahi, K. (2020). Global resource potential of seasonal pumped hydropower storage for energy and water storage. Nature Communications 11 (1), e947. 10.1038/s41467-020-14555-y.

Wang, Y., Byers, E. , Parkinson, S. , Wanders, N., Wada, Y. , Mao, J., & Bielicki, J.M. (2019). Vulnerability of existing and planned coal-fired power plants in Developing Asia to changes in climate and water resources. Energy & Environmental Science 12 (10), 3164-3181. 10.1039/c9ee02058f.

Wada, Y. , Vinca, A. , Parkinson, S. , Willaarts, B. , Magnuszewski, P., Mochizuki, J. , Mayor, B., Wang, Y., et al. (2019). Co-designing Indus Water-Energy-Land Futures. One Earth 10.1016/j.oneear.2019.10.006.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , Balogun, A.-L., Leal Filho, W., Viviani Colling, A., Nascimento, A., & Wada, Y. (2019). Using the jet stream for sustainable airship and balloon transportation of cargo and hydrogen. Energy Conversion and Management: X 3, e100016. 10.1016/j.ecmx.2019.100016.

Vinca, A. , Parkinson, S. , Byers, E. , Burek, P. , Khan, Z., Krey, V. , Diuana, F., Wang, Y., et al. (2019). The Nexus Solutions Tool (NEST): An open platform for optimizing multi-scale energy-water-land system transformations. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions 13 (3), 1095-1121. 10.5194/gmd-2019-134.

Falchetta, G., Pachauri, S. , Parkinson, S. , & Byers, E. (2019). A high-resolution gridded dataset to assess electrification in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientific Data 6 (1), art. 110. 10.1038/s41597-019-0122-6.

Hunt, J.D. & Byers, E. (2019). Reducing sea level rise with submerged barriers and dams in Greenland. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 24 (5), 779-794. 10.1007/s11027-018-9831-y.

Vinca, A. , Parkinson, S. , Byers, E. , & Burek, P. (2019). Achieving Climate-Land-Energy-Water Sustainable Development Goals in the Indus Basin. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2019, 7–12 April 2019, Vienna, Austria.

Mastrucci, A. , Byers, E. , Rao, N. , Pachauri, S. , & Riahi, K. (2019). Lack of thermal comfort as a dimension of energy poverty: Towards an SDG for space cooling? In: Global Sustainable Development Goals in a Mediatized World, 4-5 April 2019, Vienna, Austria.

Mastrucci, A. , Byers, E. , Pachauri, S. , & Rao, N. (2019). Improving the SDG energy poverty targets: residential cooling needs in the Global South. Energy and Buildings 186, 405-415. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.01.015.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , & Sánchez, A.S. (2019). Technical potential and cost estimates for seawater air conditioning. Energy 166, 979-988. 10.1016/j.energy.2018.10.146.

Parkinson, S. , Krey, V. , Huppmann, D. , Kahil, T. , McCollum, D., Fricko, O. , Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , et al. (2019). Balancing clean water-climate change mitigation tradeoffs. Environmental Research Letters 14 (1), e014009. 10.1088/1748-9326/aaf2a3.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , Wada, Y. , Parkinson, S. , Gernaat, D., Langan, S. , van Vuurem, D., & Riahi, K. (2019). Global resource potential of seasonal pumped-storage for energy and water storage. Nature Communications 11, e947. 10.1038/s41467-020-14555-y. (In Press)

Johnson, N., Burek, P. , Byers, E. , Falchetta, G., Flörke, M., Fujimori, S., Havlik, P. , Hejazi, M., et al. (2019). Integrated Solutions for the Water-Energy-Land Nexus: Are Global Models Rising to the Challenge? Water 11 (11), no. 2223. 10.3390/w11112223.

Byers, E. (2018). Between 1.5°C and 2°C – the big impacts of half a degree. IIASA Policy Brief. Laxenburg, Austria: PB-21

Palazzo, A. , van Dijk, M., Willaarts, B. , Magnuszewski, P., Mayor Rodriguez, B., Burek, P. , Kahil, T. , Tang, T. , et al. (2018). Integrated solutions for water, energy, and land nexus management the Zambezi Basin: stakeholder engagement and modeling. In: 3rd Zambezi Basin Stakeholders’ forum: Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus for Socio-Economic Benefits in the Zambezi River Basin, 8-9 October 2018, Lilongwe, Malawi.

Kahil, T. , Parkinson, S. , Satoh, Y., Greve, P., Burek, P. , Veldkamp, T., Burtscher, R. , Byers, E. , et al. (2018). A continental-scale hydro-economic model for integrating water-energy-land nexus solutions. Water Resources Research 10.1029/2017WR022478.

Qin, Y., Höglund-Isaksson, L. , Byers, E. , Feng, K., Wagner, F. , Peng, W., & Mauzerall, D.L. (2018). Air Quality-Carbon-Water Synergies and Trade-offs in China’s Natural Gas Industry. Nature Sustainability 1 (9), 505-511. 10.1038/s41893-018-0136-7.

Byers, E. , Parkinson, S. , Balkovic, J. , Burek, P. , Ebi, K., Gidden, M. , Grey, D., Greve, P., et al. (2018). Global climate and development hotspots assessment: Asia under pressure. In: 5th Asian Energy Modelling Workshop, 10-12 September 2018, Singapore.

Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , Leclere, D., Balkovic, J. , Burek, P. , Ebi, K., Grey, D., Greve, P., et al. (2018). Global exposure and vulnerability to multi-sector development and climate change hotspots. In: International Energy Workshop, 19-21 June 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , Riahi, K. , & Langan, S. (2018). Comparison between seasonal pumped-storage and conventional reservoir dams from the water, energy and land nexus perspective. Energy Conversion and Management 166, 385-401. 10.1016/j.enconman.2018.04.044.

Parkinson, S. , Krey, V. , Huppmann, D. , Kahil, T. , McCollum, D., Fricko, O. , Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , et al. (2018). Balancing clean water-climate change mitigation tradeoffs. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-18-005

Byers, E. , Gidden, M., Leclere, D., Burek, P. , Ebi, K.L., Greve, P., Grey, D., Havlik, P. , et al. (2018). Global exposure and vulnerability to multi-sector development and climate change hotspots. Environmental Research Letters 13, e055012. 10.1088/1748-9326/aabf45.

Liu, L., Parkinson, S. , Gidden, M. , Byers, E. , Satoh, Y., Riahi, K. , & Forman, B. (2018). Quantifying the potential for reservoirs to secure future surface water yields in the world's largest river basins. Environmental Research Letters 13 (4), e044026. 10.1088/1748-9326/aab2b5.

Hunt, J. , Byers, E. , Prenner, R., & de Freitas, M.A.V. (2018). Dams with head increaser effect: Harnessing potential and kinetic power from rivers with large head and flow variation. Energy Conversion and Management 157, 549-561. 10.1016/j.enconman.2017.12.034.

Burek, P. , Satoh, Y., Greve, P., Kahil, T. , Byers, E. , Langan, S. , & Wada, Y. (2018). Improving Water Resources Management on Global and Region Scales – Evaluating Strategies for Water Futures with the IIASA’s Community Water Model. In: American Geo-Sciences Union Fall Meeting, 11-15 December, New Orleans, USA.

Willaarts, B. , Langan, S. , Balkovic, J. , Burek, P. , Byers, E. , Deppermann, A., Frank, S. , Gidden, M. , et al. (2018). Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land Progress report 3. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Parkinson, S. , Kahil, M., Wada, Y. , Krey, V. , Byers, E. , Johnson, N., Burek, P. , Satoh, Y., et al. (2017). Hydro-economic modeling of integrated solutions for the water-energy-land nexus in Africa. In: AGU Fall Meeting, 11-15 December 2015, New Orleans.

Gidden, M. , Byers, E. , Burek, P. , Ebi, K., Greve, P., Havlik, P. , Hillers, A., Johnson, N., et al. (2017). Exposure and Vulnerability to Energy, Water, and Land Hotspots under Different Climate Futures. In: 10th Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium Meeting, December 2017.

Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , Burek, P. , Leclere, D., Palazzo, A. , Parkinson, S. , Rogelj, J. , Satoh, Y., et al. (2017). Multi-sector climate impacts assessment for water, energy and land. In: Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project Meeting, 9-10 October 2017, Potsdam, Germany.

Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , Burek, P. , Leclere, D., Palazzo, A. , Rogelj, J. , Satoh, Y., Wada, Y. , et al. (2017). Future exposure and vulnerability to multi-sector hotspots. In: Impacts World 2017, 11-13 October 2017, Potsdam, Germany.

Hunt, J. & Byers, E. (2017). Seasonal Pumped-Storage: An Integrated Approach for Hydropower, Water Management and Energy Storage. In: Colloquium CIGREE “Rotating Electrical Machines for Power Generation”, 18-20 September 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Satoh, Y., Kahil, T. , Byers, E. , Burek, P. , Fischer, G., Tramberend, S. , Greve, P., Flörke, M., et al. (2017). Multi-model and multi-scenario assessments of Asian water futures: the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative. Earth's Future 5 (7), 823-852. 10.1002/2016EF000503.

Byers, E. , Gidden, M. , & Maussion, F. (2017). Working with big, multi-dimensional geoscientific datasets in Python: a tutorial introduction to xarray. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017, 23–28 April 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Liu, L., Parkinson, S. , Gidden, M. , Byers, E. , Satoh, Y., Riahi, K. , & Forman, B. (2017). Global surface water reservoir storage under climate change, land use constraints, and population growth. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017, 23–28 April 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Gidden, M. , Byers, E. , Greve, P., Kahil, T. , Parkinson, S. , Raptis, C., Rogelj, J. , Satoh, Y., et al. (2017). Hydroclimatic risks and uncertainty in the global power sector. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017, 23–28 April 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Greve, P., Kahil, T. , Schinko, T. , Mochizuki, J. , Satoh, Y., Burek, P. , Burtscher, R. , Langan, S. , et al. (2017). Global assessment of water policy vulnerability under uncertainty in water scarcity projections. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017, 23–28 April 2017, Vienna, Austria.

Wiberg, D., Satoh, Y., Burek, P. , Fischer, G., Tramberend, S. , Kahil, T. , Flörke, M., Eisner, S., et al. (2017). Water Futures and Solutions: Asia 2050 (Final Report). Knowledge and Innovation Support for the Water Financing Program of the Asian Development Bank (RETA 6498). IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria (Submitted)

Willaarts, B. , Langan, S. , Balkovic, J. , Burek, P. , Byers, E. , Deppermann, A., Gidden, M. , Greve, P., et al. (2017). Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy and Land Progress report 2. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Byers, E. , Hall, J.W., Amezaga, J.M., O’Donnell, G.M., & Leathard, A. (2016). Water and climate risks to power generation with carbon capture and storage. Environmental Research Letters 11 (2), 024011. 10.1088/1748-9326/11/2/024011.

Byers, E. , Qadrdan, L., Hall, J., Amezaga, J., Chaudry, M., Kilsby, C., Martino, T., & Alderson, D. (2016). Water use and water availability constraints to decarbonised electricity systems. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2016, 17–22 April 2016, Vienna, Austria.