Scientific update
Scientific achievements
The case study approach to historical successes and failures of technology policies, initiated under the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), was completed with a book published by Cambridge University Press: Energy Technology Innovation – Learning from Historical Successes and Failures.
TNT researchers made a significant contribution to the work of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including the IPCC Synthesis Report, and the Report of IPCC Working Group III, also published by Cambridge University Press in 2014.
The final Report of the Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC), an IPCC regional offspring activity, was also completed and published in 2014.
The IPCC AR5 Scenario Database, developed in collaboration with the Energy Program, a new database of historical energy balances (PFUDB), and a new online teaching resource based on and extending the GEA Energy Primer were also major new completed research products of TNT in 2014.
Important progress was also achieved in a number of in-house collaborative research projects and externally funded research contracts including a project within IIASA’s Advanced Systems Analysis Forum, a new IIASA cross-cutting research project on unconventional gas, and the German Advisory Council on Climate Change (WBGU) and Alternative Pathways to Sustainable development and climate Stabilization (ALPS) external research contracts. These research-focused activities were complemented by policy outreach activities under the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and a new Institute-wide effort to provide policy decision support for the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank.
New book on energy technology innovation
Scientists, alumni, and collaborators from the Transitions to New Technologies Program (TNT) contributed to 25 chapters of the book, Energy Technology Innovation: Learning from Historical Successes and Failures, published by Cambridge University Press in 2014. More
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
Seven resident scientists from the Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program served as Lead and Contributing Authors, Editors, or Review Editors on the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). More
Austrian Panel on Climate Change
Seven IIASA authors contributed to the final Report of the Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC), an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regional offspring activity that was completed and published in 2014. More
Primary, Final, and Useful Energy Database (PFUDB)
Researchers from the Transition to New Technologies (TNT) Program have developed a new database of historical energy balances—Primary, Final, and Useful Energy Database (PFUDB)—to explore the impacts of input versus output measures of technological change that shed a new light on the possible speed of major technological transitions. More
Energy Primer online textbook
The original Energy Primer, released in conjunction with the Report of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), has been expanded and updated and made available both online and as a downloadable textbook, along with with support material for educators. More
Advanced Systems Analysis Forum
Important progress was achieved by scientists of the Transition to New Technologies (TNT) Program in a number of in-house collaborative research projects and externally funded research contracts, including a project within IIASA’s Advanced Systems Analysis Forum. More
New cross-cutting research on unconventional gas
In 2014 the Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program in collaboration with IIASA’s Energy (ENE) and Mitigation of Air Pollution & Greenhouse Gas (MAG) Programs worked on scoping a new cross-cutting research project on unconventional gas resources—which are potentially vast—and also on identifying a potential unique niche for IIASA in this rapidly crowding research field. More
German Advisory Council on Climate Change (WBGU)
Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) scientists are part of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), a scientific advisory panel established by the German government. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, one of the nine members of the WBGU since its inception, was reappointed in 2014 for a second term. More
Alternative Pathways to sustainable development and climate Stabilization (ALPS)
In the ALPS project, Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) scientists in collaboration with the ENE Program and colleagues from Japan are researching ways to improve the representation of technological change in integrated assessment models (IAMs) to inform climate policy choices. More
Research program