11 February 2013
The European Union Heads of Mission are the ambassadors of the EU countries and Croatia to the International Organizations in Vienna, which include IIASA. Their visit to IIASA served as the group’s annual retreat meeting, in which they discuss EU policy, multilateral cooperation, and challenges that require international cooperation. As an international institute focused on the world’s major problems, IIASA is a fitting location for the meeting.
During the visit, IIASA Director & CEO Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat welcomed the group and provided an overview of IIASA’s research activities, highlighting the Institute’s new focus on cross-cutting research that stretches across disciplines to address interconnected global problems such as climate, energy, and water. The new Global Water Futures: World Water Scenarios Initiative, launched earlier this week, provides one such example.
The EU Ambassadors also heard from IIASA Deputy Director/Deputy CEO Professor Nebojsa Nakicenovic, who spoke about IIASA’s history of policy-relevant research in global problem areas, describing IIASA’s major contribution to research that has direct applications to policy. Nakicenovic highlighted IIASA’s contributions such as the GAINS Model, the key scientific tool that feeds into European air quality policy. He discussed IIASA’s contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for which IIASA produces a number of emissions and population scenarios. And he highlighted the recent release of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), which has served as the scientific basis for the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
IIASA Evolution and Ecology Program Leader Dr. Ulf Dieckmann spoke to the group about how systems analysis research and game theory can help inform policymakers who are working towards preserving common resources such as fisheries and forests. Dieckmann provided several examples showing how IIASA research has contributed to more sustainable policies.
IIASA has been providing policy-relevant science to decision makers around the world for more than 40 years. IIASA researchers conduct integrated assessments for governments, corporations, and institutions around the world, including currently the EU, the World Bank, and the office of the Secretary General of the UN. For more information on IIASA’s impact on policy, see the Science and Policy Impacts Web page.
Left to right: H.E. Amb. James Brennan (Head of Permanent Mission of Ireland, Vienna & Current President of the Council of the European Union); H.E. Amb. Györgyi Martin Zanathy (Head of Delegation of the European Union to the International Organizations in Vienna); H.E. Amb. Mara Marinaki (Managing Director for Global and Multilateral Affairs, European External Action Service of the European Union, Brussels); Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat (IIASA Director/CEO).
The European Union Heads of Mission meet with IIASA representatives.
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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