Activities for 2016

In 2016, the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program will enhance its systems tools to facilitate comprehensive assessments of multiple benefits that are immediately relevant for policymakers.

Adapted from: Miroslava Hlavačová | Dreamstime

Adapted from: Miroslava Hlavačová | Dreamstime

In particular, experience shows that many important policy decisions are taken at the local level, for which generic findings from global-scale, long-term analyses are less useful. While local decisions can have far-reaching consequences, there is usually limited local expertise to understand the multiple dimensions of specific decisions, realize the benefits, and develop balanced approaches that minimize trade-offs between different policy objectives.

As part of an IIASA cross-cutting project, the program will complete a first assessment of the social heterogeneity of air pollution impacts and mitigation strategies, especially in developing countries. The project, in collaboration with the World Population, Energy, and Ecosystems Services and Management programs, will facilitate new insights into who is causing pollution, who will suffer from the impacts, and on whom the burden of emissions controls will fall.

In addition, the program will explore the potential role for air pollution control strategies in long-term transformational pathways. Air pollution mitigation offers the advantage that benefits of actions are felt immediately and at the local scale, while there are also important interactions and potential synergies with transformational strategies. MAG work will attempt to identify specific policy interventions at the local or national scale and for the near-term that will result in global and long-term co-benefits.

As a new direction, the program will explore new systems methods to aid local planners—who often do not have a scientific background, or the time to acquire expertise in the relevant fields—to conduct practical policy options analyses. The new methods will aim to reveal potential solutions with multiple benefits and illustrate the consequences for different groups in society in a simple manner, but without compromising on scientific rigor.


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Last edited: 25 February 2016

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International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313