News Archive 2014

IIASA's news center provides information on our research and related activities.

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18 December 2014
How will climate change transform agriculture?

Climate change impacts will require major but very uncertain transformations of global agriculture systems by mid-century, according to new IIASA research.  More

15 December 2014
ERC grant to support energy poverty & climate research

IIASA energy researcher Narasimha D. Rao has received a prestigious Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for a project on energy, climate change, and decent living standards.  More

15 December 2014
Climate policy pledges are an important step forward but fall short of 2°C

Pledges to reduce emissions in China, Europe and the US provide an important step forward for climate change action, but a more comprehensive effort is needed to stabilize the climate below critical thresholds. Climate finance can cover investment gaps and alleviate distributional tensions, a new study shows.  More

10 December 2014
Eurasia: Workshop on economic integration brings new insights

Economic considerations trump politics at IIASA workshop on Non-Tariff Barriers and Technical Regulations, 20–21 November 2014.  More

05 December 2014
Systems Science and Israel

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Pavel Kabat to speak about the benefits of systems science. During the visit Kabat also met with the Director of the National Economic Council in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities to discuss possible future collaboration with Israel.  More

03 December 2014
Growing cooperation: First the carrot, then the stick

To encourage cooperation in groups, a combination of rewards and penalties is best, according to a new study by researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).  More

01 December 2014
Climate Change: The necessary, the possible, and the desirable

In a new article published just prior to the UNFCC meeting in Lima, prominent scientists, including IIASA leaders, explore the key elements for climate change action.  More

27 November 2014
Education is key to climate adaptation

According to new IIASA research, education makes people less vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and storms that are expected to intensify with climate change.  More

20 November 2014
UNEP report highlights pathways to limit climate change

The 2014 Emissions Gap report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) outlines clear limits for global greenhouse gas emissions, in order to avoid overreaching the 2 degree Celsius limit. IIASA researchers played leading roles in the report.  More

18 November 2014
IIASA researchers win GEO Appathon

Growers’ Nation, a mobile app developed by IIASA researchers, has won the 2014 Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Appathon, a global app development competition aimed at unleashing the power of Earth Observations.  More

17 November 2014
Risk analysis for a complex world

Developing adaptable systems for finance and international relations could help reduce the risk of major systemic collapses such as the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new analysis.  More

11 November 2014
IIASA Council welcomes new Chair

Donald Saari has been appointed as Council Chair at the biannual meeting of the IIASA Council in June 2014, effective from 11 November 2014.  More

04 November 2014
Young scientists program advances research in Africa

The Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program—a research capacity building program cooperatively offered by IIASA and South African partners—launches its third year at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa.  More

04 November 2014
Dr Arkady Kryazhimskiy 1949 – 2014

Dr Arkady Kryazhimskiy will be sorely missed by all his colleagues at IIASA. He was an outstanding mathematician, a fine leader, a helpful colleague, and a true gentleman.  More

03 November 2014
Climate change: Limiting short-lived pollutants cannot buy time on CO2 mitigation

Reducing emissions of non-CO2 gases and air pollutants with climate effects would bring health benefits and near-term climate co-benefits - but the impact on long-term climate change might be lower than previously estimated, according to a new study of the potential of air pollution and carbon dioxide mitigation in climate stabilization scenarios.  More

23 October 2014
World population likely to peak by 2070

New population projections from IIASA researchers provide a fundamentally improved view of future population, structured by age, sex, and level of education, which differ from recent projections by the United Nations.  More

19 October 2014
Improved electricity access has little impact on climate change

Expanding access to household electricity services accounts for only a small portion of total emission growth, shows a new study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), shedding light on an ongoing debate on potential conflicts between climate and development.  More

15 October 2014
Natural gas boom alone won't slow climate change

Expanding the current bounty of cheap natural gas alone would not help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to a new study.  More

29 September 2014
Growers Nation brings citizen science to the farm

A new app designed at IIASA makes agricultural data available for gardeners and smallholder farmers around the world, and allows users to share information and inform future research.  More

26 September 2014
IIASA at the Climate Summit 2014

IIASA made a substantial contribution to this week’s United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit through the Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL) initiative, and contributions to various reports.  More

24 September 2014
The plus side of population aging

An aging society will have numerous benefits, according to new research from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and researchers in Germany and the United States.  More

23 September 2014
Population projections

In a new blog post, IIASA's demographers explain why they project the world population to peak this century and UN demographers believe stabilization is unlikely.  More

23 September 2014
Island nations commission report on climate solutions

IIASA researchers served as key authors on a new report on climate solutions commissioned by island nations, which are poised to suffer early and greater climate impacts. The report was released at the UN Climate Summit this week.  More

22 September 2014
Climate targets move further from reach

The Global Carbon Project’s 2014 Carbon Budget shows the continuing rise of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2013. Analyses from IIASA researchers and colleagues show the implications for meeting climate targets.  More

18 September 2014
Population policy for sustainable development

Education and health, particularly for women, should be the priority focus of new population policies for the 21st century, according to a growing body of research from IIASA demographers.  More

17 September 2014
Landmark report defines climate change in Austria

Climate change effects are already being felt in Austria: A new report shows how rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and melting glaciers have affected the country and what lies in store for the future.  More

17 September 2014
WBGU Report: Climate protection as a world citizen movement

Civil society must play a key role in the push for a global climate change agreement, according to a new report from the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).  More

08 September 2014
Climate comic now available in English

A comic book on climate change, featuring IIASA Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic, is now available in English.  More

08 September 2014
Climate change to increase forest fire danger in Europe

Climate change is expected to contribute to a dramatic increase in forest fire damage in Europe, but better forest management could mitigate the problem, according to new research from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).  More

03 September 2014
Biodiversity in the balance

A new study calls into question the evolutionary stability of an ecological explanation of biodiversity.  More

26 August 2014
Alpbach-Laxenburg Group: Tackling inequality is key to sustainable development

Inequality must be a primary focus for the post 2015 sustainable development goals, according to a declaration released today by the newly formed Alpbach-Laxenburg Group.  More

22 August 2014
IIASA and UNIDO strengthen collaborations

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director General, Mr. Li Yong, met with IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat this week at IIASA to enhance collaborations between their two organizations.  More

20 August 2014
A demographic perspective on religion

The mixes of religion and ethnicity in society are changing in Vienna, Europe, and the world. IIASA research provides a demographic perspective.  More

28 July 2014
Gender disparities in cognition will not diminish

Improved living conditions and less gender-restricted educational opportunities reduce the cognitive disparities between men and women or improve the gap in favor of women, according to new research by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Karolinska Institutet.  More

21 July 2014
IIASA enhances collaboration with Korea and Malaysia

Research collaborations into global problems ranging from air pollution to tropical deforestation have been strengthened following the official visit of IIASA’s Director General and CEO Professor Dr Pavel Kabat and his special advisor Chin Min Lee, to the Republic of Korea and Malaysia in June and July 2014.  More

18 July 2014
Pathways to deep decarbonization

A new report on deep decarbonization, published last week, offers a new perspective on how countries can avoid dangerous climate change and achieve sustainable development.  More

17 July 2014
A new generation of scenarios for climate research

A new framework for climate scenarios research brings an integrated view of economics, demography, and greenhouse gas emissions to the development of emissions scenarios that underlie climate models.  More

07 July 2014
China’s hidden water footprint

China’s richest provinces have an outsized environmental impact on the country’s water-scarce regions, according to new research from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the University of Maryland.  More

04 July 2014
IIASA ranked as a top global think tank

The International Center for Climate Governance has named IIASA in the top five think tanks for climate change economics and policy worldwide.  More

02 July 2014
Putting a price tag on the 2° climate target

Addressing climate change will require substantial new investment in low-carbon energy and energy efficiency – but no more than what is currently spent on today’s fossil-dominated energy system, according to new research from IIASA and partners.  More

30 June 2014
Communication prize for IIASA demographer

The Lundbeck Foundation ESOF2014 Communication Prize has been awarded to IIASA World Population Program Director Wolfgang Lutz.  More

25 June 2014
Global Carbon Project names IIASA co-chair

IIASA Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic has been named co-chair of the Global Carbon Project, an international research project aimed at better understanding the carbon cycle.  More

22 June 2014
Study shows greater potential for solar power

Concentrating solar power (CSP) could supply a large fraction of the power supply in a decarbonized energy system, shows a new study of the technology and its potential practical application.  More

18 June 2014
IIASA appoints new director to the Institute’s Advanced Systems Analysis Program

Today, IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Pavel Kabat appointed Russian mathematician Dr Elena Rovenskaya as Program Director of the Institute’s Advanced Systems Analysis Program, where she will lead a team of 20 researchers that develop new, more sophisticated methodologies for systems analysis.  More

16 June 2014
Mexico joins IIASA

Mexico joined IIASA on 16 June 2014 , becoming the 22nd member of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).  More

10 June 2014
Protecting the environment by fighting poverty

Environmental protection and poverty eradication go hand in hand, according to a new policy paper from leading scientists including IIASA researchers.  More

04 June 2014
REN21 report shows jump in renewable capacity

The 2014 Global Status Report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) shows major growth in renewable energy capacity worldwide, expanding upon recent IIASA research such as the Global Energy Assessment.  More

02 June 2014
Scenarios for a changing Arctic

IIASA’s new Arctic Futures Initiative explores the future of the Arctic region in all its dimensions. The initiative launched last week with an expert workshop and a policy-oriented special session in Laxenburg.  More

22 May 2014
Symbiosis or capitalism? A new view of forest fungi

A new study suggests that symbiotic relationships between trees and the mycorrhyzae that grow in their roots may not be as mutually beneficial as previously thought.  More

19 May 2014
Tying air pollution to climate scenarios

The latest IPCC report relied on four scenarios—the Representative Concentration Pathways or RCPs—to project the range of possible future greenhouse gas emissions. A new study explores how air pollution could develop under the different climate change scenarios.  More

13 May 2014
A better forest model for Bolivia

A new study from researchers at IIASA, Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and Foundation Friends of Nature in Bolivia provides a better understanding of the carbon dynamics in the tropical forests of Bolivia.  More

07 May 2014
A new tool to measure the speed of aging

A physical test for measuring age shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by IIASA demographers.  More

01 May 2014
Cropland Capture brings a flood of crowdsourced data

IIASA’s crowdsourcing game Cropland Capture ends its six-month campaign next week. Players have already validated more than 4 million square kilometers of land cover. Researchers are now using the data to build a new and improved map of global cropland.  More

28 April 2014
Brazilian agricultural policy could cut global greenhouse gas emissions

Brazil may be able to curb up to 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation by encouraging the intensification of its cattle production, according to a new study from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and international collaborators.  More

17 April 2014
Young scientists selected for summer program

IIASA’s Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) has finalized the participant list for the 2014 program, which begins in less than two months.  More

15 April 2014
IIASA’s Science Advisory Committee

On 14-15 April IIASA’s Science Advisory Committee (SAC) meet for the first time under the leadership of Professor Mary Scholes of Witwatersrand University in Pretoria.  More

14 April 2014
Nutrient-rich forests absorb more carbon

The ability of forests to sequester carbon from the atmosphere depends on nutrients available in the forest soils, shows new research from an international team of researchers, including IIASA.  More

14 April 2014
IPCC report: Mitigating climate change

IIASA researchers are major contributors to the third part of the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report (AR5), “Mitigation of Climate Change,” released yesterday.  More

07 April 2014
The tiniest greenhouse gas emitters

Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the University of Vienna shows that these feedbacks may be less dire than previously thought.  More

31 March 2014
Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability to climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released the second part of its 5th Assessment Report (AR5), “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.” IIASA research provides an important input to the report.  More

31 March 2014
What will climate policy mean for coal?

Limiting climate change to 2°C means shutting down coal power plants – an unpopular proposition for coal power companies. But a new study shows that delaying climate policies could prove even worse for power plant owners.  More

24 March 2014
EU could afford to lead international climate action

New research from IIASA and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research (PIK) shows that early action by the European Union on climate change could reduce future warming by more than 1 degree, even if other countries join later.  More

20 March 2014
A growing role for young scientists at IIASA

Additional opportunities in IIASA’s post-doctoral fellowship program and Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) will give more young scientists the chance to conduct research at the Institute.  More

12 March 2014
Education boosts brain function long after school

Education significantly improves mental functioning in seniors even four decades after finishing school, shows a new study published in the journal Demography by researchers at IIASA and the University of Linz.  More

11 March 2014
Modeling the future of the Eurasian economic space

Researchers from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the European Union met at IIASA last week to discuss and propose new methods to understand the challenges and potential benefits of economic cooperation and integration “from Lisbon to Vladivostok.”  More

04 March 2014
To avoid very high pension ages, enable more to work

A new IIASA study shows that in most European countries, if labor force participation rates remain at current levels, by 2050 it would be necessary to raise pension ages above age 68.  More

02 March 2014
European flood risk could double by 2050

Losses from extreme floods in Europe could more than double by 2050, because of climate change and socioeconomic development. Understanding the risk posed by large-scale floods is of growing importance and will be key for managing climate adaptation.  More

24 February 2014
Young scientists celebrate success in South Africa

On February 22, 34 young researchers completed the 3-month Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP), now in its second year.  More

24 February 2014
Better livestock diets to combat climate change and improve food security

The projected transition of livestock systems from pure grazing diets to diets supplemented by higher quality feeds will cut greenhouse gas emissions from land use change globally by as much as 23% by 2030, while improving food availability and farmers’ income, shows new IIASA research.  More

18 February 2014
Tropical Flagship Initiative launched in Indonesia

IIASA and Indonesian partner institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the kickoff meeting for the Tropical Flagship Initiative in Jakarta this week.  More

06 February 2014
Why do young people fail to thrive?

Around the world, more and more young people are failing to find stable jobs and live independently. A new study from IIASA population researchers explains why.  More

04 February 2014
IIASA and India Collaborations

IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, and Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic travel to India to take part in the 14th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), and meet with key representatives to discuss and expand IIASA’s collaborations in India.  More

29 January 2014
Providing science to European climate policymakers

IIASA models provided quantitative input to the recent proposal of the European Commission on climate and energy goals for 2030.  More

28 January 2014
Fertilizer nutrient imbalance to limit food production in Africa

A growing imbalance between phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer use in Africa could lead to crop yield reductions of nearly 30% by 2050, according to a new study from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).  More

23 January 2014
The upside of migration

To improve migration policies, Europe should consider education levels, argued IIASA’s Wolfgang Lutz at the World Economic Forum in Davos.  More

15 January 2014
Model comparison improves estimates of future food demand

An unprecedented comparison of agricultural economic models shows that future demand is likely to exceed previous estimates, with the biggest uncertainties coming from future changes in population and consumption.  More

14 January 2014
ERC funds IIASA crowdsourcing project

The European Research Council has awarded a highly competitive Consolidator Grant to Steffen Fritz, leader and creator of IIASA’s citizen science project, Geo-Wiki.  More

08 January 2014
EU Commission designs new clean air policy with IIASA’s GAINS model

In December 2013, the European Commission proposed a new package of measures to reduce air pollution. Poor air quality is the number one environmental cause of premature death in the European Union. The new package is the culmination of a two year process to review and improve existing air pollution policies. IIASA’s GAINS model guided European policymakers at every step of this process.  More



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Last edited: 14 March 2016

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