New Ideas for a Fair globalization

From left to right: Chin Min Lee, Special Advisor to IIASA Director/CEO, Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, IIASA Director and Chief Executive Officer and Amina J. Mohammed, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning at the private high level retreat during European Forum Alpbach. (Photo: Matthias Silveri for IIASA)

High level delegates took part in a special retreat during their time in Alpbach, discussing aspects of the global transformation, including energy , food and nutrition security as  the key for poverty alleviation and growth. This was followed by a retreat working dinner involving H.E. Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Valerie Amos, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Heinz Fischer, President of Austria, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, Franz Fischler, President of the European Forum Alpbach, Jeff Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, and Kristalina Georgieva, Member of the European Commission, International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response , Kandeh Yumkella, the Chairman of UN Energy and Pavel Kabat, Director and CEO of IIASA.

During the retreat Pavel Kabat and other distinguished discussants were making strong plea for water security as precondition for food and energy security.  

Professor Kabat was invited to join a UN high level advisory board – The Leadership Council, which oversees the work of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN) and it is comprised of world leading experts on sustainable development.

IIASA hosted breakfast

Together with European Forum Alpbach, IIASA hosted a working breakfast prior to the closing sessions to discuss the concept of the new global think tank with high level guests Amina J. Mohammed, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Bob Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, H.E Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Michael Karnitschnig, Adviser to EU Commission President Barroso on climate action, energy policy, international development and EU enlargement, Heinz Fischer, President of Austria, Ulrike Ritzinger, European and International Affairs, Office of the President, Franz Fischler, President of the European Forum Alpbach, Thomas Mayr-Harting, EU Head of Delegation to the United Nations, Jeffrey Sachs, special advisor  to UN Secretary General, Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, IIASA Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Chin Min Lee, Special Advisor to IIASA Director/CEO.

Heinz Fischer, President of Austria and Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, IIASA Director and Chief Executive Officer at the IIASA cohosted breakfast. (Photo: Matthias Silveri for IIASA)

Green Growth and Sustainable Development 

IIASA co-organized a number of events during the Forum, including  a plenary session on Green Growth: speakers discussed the new concept for sustainable development.   

Participants of the "Green Growth: A New Concept for Sustainable Development?" panel (left to right): panel Chair Nisha Pillai, Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat, IIASA Director and Chief Executive Officer, Changhua Wu, Greater China Director, The Climate Group, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, and Leena Srivastava, Hony. Executive Director (Operations)/ Vice Chancellor, TERI – The Energy and Resources Institute. (Photo: Luiza-Lucia Puiu/European Forum Alpbach)

New global think tank

 The new global think tank aims address the issues caused by the ongoing global transformation and aid in the creation of sustainable development paths.

Earlier this year the IIASA and EFA entered into a strategic partnership aimed at fostering sustainable solutions to global problems. As part of this, IIASA, supported by its extensive international network of institutional members and collaborators worldwide, together with the European Forum Alpbach, have announced the establishment of  a new Global Think Tank that will include some of the best minds in the world today: people who, independent of national and financial interests, are willing to place their collective knowledge, expertise, experience, and reputation at the service of the world community at this pivotal point in Earth's development.

IIASA Director and Chief Executive Officer Professor Dr Pavel Kabat says “Urgent and concerted steps are required to help human beings, societies and their economies, and the environment itself on which we depend, to transform to a sustainable development path. Today’s business-as-usual scenario is no longer an option.

“A new form of dialogue is required. This would help to develop partnerships between the highest level of academia, governments, the business community, and civil society. Such partnerships would help to transform the currently unfruitful environmental narratives into positive ones. They would also create plausible development paths full of innovation and business opportunities, in response to the ongoing global-change-related challenges.”

The think tank is set out to formulate and communicate the most needed transformative actions as a part of ongoing and upcoming global transformations - simultaneously at the global, regional, and national levels and in every sector, including food, water, energy, climate, biodiversity, human health, education, economic development, equity, and social inclusion.

“IIASA’s systems approaches, and its scientific excellence and the Forum’s unique and historically proven power to convene meetings with leading political, economic and industrial players thus provides an extraordinary platform for interdisciplinary dialogue.”, says  Alpbach Forum President Franz Fischler. “The European Forum Alpbach and IIASA are both uniquely poised at the nexus of international and interdisciplinary research to seek solutions to major global challenges – such as energy, climate, food and water, poverty and equity, and their related issues on the economic and political governance. The hosting of a new Global Think Tank to support solutions of persistent world problems is fully in line with the aims and objectives of both organizations.”

The members of the think tank will be drawn from Nobel Prize winning academics, former heads of state and government ministers and other leading politicians, from private- sector CEOs from commerce, industry and finance, and from civil society and nongovernmental organizations leaders. Managerial support and coordination of the independent think will be provided by IIASA together with the European Forum Alpbach, and all deliberations will be fully supported by IIASA and its network of more than 350 international academic and research partners.

After each think tank session, a public statement will be issued (Laxenburg and Alpbach Declaration), and scientific and thematic assessment reports which will be produced by IIASA and its partners to support deliberations.

The Federal Minister for Science and Research, Mr. Töchterle, also added his support to the establishment of the global think tank by European Forum Alpbach and IIASA commenting:  “On an international level we are facing increasing speed and intensification of political, scientific and economic changes in our society and we have to investigate transnational solutions and take sustainable decisions to address actual and future requirements in education, health care and climate change properly.”

“The symbiosis of Forum Alpbach and IIASA is promising, since both Forum Alpbach and IIASA stand for networking, exchange, internationality and excellency - a precious fertile soil for sustainable approaches to tackle essential issues of the future like demography and climate research.”