To help eradicate poverty and ensure a fair share for all, IIASA researchers identified strategies to avoid tragedies of the commons, such as over-use of natural resources. Equitable governance was also a focus for the institute, and researchers worked to identify “clumsy” solutions for highly contentious policy debates—solutions that involve all voices in reaching a negotiated compromise.
The Energy Program (ENE) is analyzing how improving access to modern energy technologies in developing countries can potentially improve human health and wellbeing. more
Meeting the challenges of climate change, disasters, and competition for energy and resources requires transitions in the way we govern. In 2015 the focus of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program’s work on governance was on open government, stakeholder perceptions, and the involvement of multiple stakeholder perspectives in participatory settings. more
The Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program played a key role in the proposal for a large-scale, multi-year research project to analyze the synergies and trade-offs between different natural resource systems: Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (IS-WEL). more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program built on its breakthrough in assessment of flood-risk distributions which accounts for spatial correlation between river basins and therefore avoids underestimation of risk. The program has now incorporated different types of copula dependency measures, such as the Archimedian- and Frank-based copula, and various dependency structures. more
Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) researchers have been working to support policymakers in Brazil and the Congo Basin to identify land-use and forest conservation policies that are economically, socially, and environmentally optimal. more
The Energy Program (ENE) is analyzing how improving access to modern energy technologies in developing countries can potentially improve human health and wellbeing. more
The World Population Program (POP), with three other IIASA programs—Energy (ENE), Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG), and Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) – continues to implement the crosscutting project “Accounting for socioeconomic heterogeneity in IIASA models” started in 2014. more
The Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program played a key role in the proposal for a large-scale, multi-year research project to analyze the synergies and trade-offs between different natural resource systems: Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (IS-WEL). more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program built on its breakthrough in assessment of flood-risk distributions which accounts for spatial correlation between river basins and therefore avoids underestimation of risk. The program has now incorporated different types of copula dependency measures, such as the Archimedian- and Frank-based copula, and various dependency structures. more
Questions of fiscal, social, and ecological resilience have become fundamental to addressing the global issues of risk management, climate change adaptation, and transitions to a sustainable future. However, operationalization of the concept has remained elusive; this is where Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program made substantial progress in 2015. more
Explicitly accounting for population heterogeneity—in particular with respect to level of education—provides an analytical tool for anticipating future vulnerability. Community participation and strong social networks can also aid preparedness to natural disasters in vulnerable regions, shows new research conducted in the south of Thailand. more
Meeting the challenges of climate change, disasters, and competition for energy and resources requires transitions in the way we govern. In 2015 the focus of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program’s work on governance was on open government, stakeholder perceptions, and the involvement of multiple stakeholder perspectives in participatory settings. more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program built on its breakthrough in assessment of flood-risk distributions which accounts for spatial correlation between river basins and therefore avoids underestimation of risk. The program has now incorporated different types of copula dependency measures, such as the Archimedian- and Frank-based copula, and various dependency structures. more
In 2015 the Paris COP21 and the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance showed that insurance against the impacts of climate change is a key issue. The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program played a role in the history and drafting of both initiatives and is contributing to the evidence needed for their implementation. more
This theory puts the age-old wisdom that societies change through generational replacement into analytical form. Using the tools of multidimensional demography it presents a formalized model that allows for quantitative forecasts of such societal changes for decades into the future. more
One of the goals of the Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative is to establish a knowledge hub for systems analytic approaches to water challenges. To facilitate this, the program has been working closely with the Intersectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP) to help develop climate-impact models that fully incorporate water issues. more
The Methods for Economic Decision-Making under Uncertainty (MEDU) group has identified promising approaches to emissions offsetting in the energy sector under Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism. These include increasing risk-aversion of energy producers, exposing risk-averse behavior, and activating a benefit-sharing mechanism. more
The Energy Program (ENE) launched the Decent Living Energy project based on a European Research Council Starting Grant award in June 2015. This project assesses the energy needs and associated greenhouse gas emissions of eradicating poverty in key emerging economies. more
IIASA research has firmly established the fact that improvements in the educational attainment structure of populations are a key driver of economic growth. The new set of global Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios—which define alternative population trajectories by age, sex, and six levels of educational attainment—reflect this, showing that economic growth trajectories follow those of human capital. more
In collaboration with the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program the Water (WAT) Program has continued to contribute to methods to enhance flood resilience. To this end, WAT has led development of the Flood Resilience System Framework (FLORES) to integrate disaster risk management and development perspectives. more
Long-standing IIASA work on how to facilitate cooperation has acquired additional strength through a cross-cutting initiative aiming to compare, combine, and integrate approaches from different disciplines. Formal and informal institutions for overcoming social dilemmas and the tragedy of the commons are at the center of this research. more
The Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program played a key role in the proposal for a large-scale, multi-year research project to analyze the synergies and trade-offs between different natural resource systems: Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (IS-WEL). more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program’s Methods for Economic Decision-Making under Uncertainty (MEDU) group has advanced analysis of offsets and permits in the context of international carbon markets and investment uncertainty. more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program’s Policy and Science Interface (PSI) group has advanced research into negative emissions technologies—ways of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere—investigating whether they are a viable way of tackling climate change. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program built on its breakthrough in assessment of flood-risk distributions which accounts for spatial correlation between river basins and therefore avoids underestimation of risk. The program has now incorporated different types of copula dependency measures, such as the Archimedian- and Frank-based copula, and various dependency structures. more
In 2015 the Paris COP21 and the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance showed that insurance against the impacts of climate change is a key issue. The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program played a role in the history and drafting of both initiatives and is contributing to the evidence needed for their implementation. more
The Sendai Framework for Action, discussed in [1], brought global attention to the urgent need to simultaneously consider development and climate change priorities as part of disaster risk management. The international rhetoric has now, more emphatically than ever, shifted from ex-post reconstruction and relief to ex-ante disaster risk reduction and financing. more
Stochastic GLOBIOM has been used to analyze interdependencies and trade-offs between structural and financial measures for hedging systemic risks and food, energy, water, environmental security in land use systems, which can be induced by climate change and weather variability. more
The World in 2050 (TWI2050) is an international collaboration launched by IIASA with international partners that will involve almost all research programs at IIASA with a focus on deriving viable pathways for achieving all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program built on its breakthrough in assessment of flood-risk distributions which accounts for spatial correlation between river basins and therefore avoids underestimation of risk. The program has now incorporated different types of copula dependency measures, such as the Archimedian- and Frank-based copula, and various dependency structures. more
Explicitly accounting for population heterogeneity—in particular with respect to level of education—provides an analytical tool for anticipating future vulnerability. Community participation and strong social networks can also aid preparedness to natural disasters in vulnerable regions, shows new research conducted in the south of Thailand. more
In collaboration with the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program the Water (WAT) Program has continued to contribute to methods to enhance flood resilience. To this end, WAT has led development of the Flood Resilience System Framework (FLORES) to integrate disaster risk management and development perspectives. more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) researchers have been working to support policymakers in Brazil and the Congo Basin to identify land-use and forest conservation policies that are economically, socially, and environmentally optimal. more
Lucas Henneman of the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, used the Greenhouse Gas Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model emissions and control costs associated with eight energy and air pollution scenarios. more
Moipone Mantsebo Letsie of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, analyzed how strategies to cope with climate change differ between households in Lesotho. more
Chukwuma Leonard Azimoh, of Mälardalen University, Sweden, examined whether mini-grids could provide a solution to off-grid electrification in South Africa. more
Jenni Koivisto, of Karlstad University, Sweden, investigated the different approaches stakeholders take to deal with flood risks and implement solutions. more
Erik Nilsson, of Lund University, Sweden, developed a risk modeling tool to estimate the adaptive capacities of communities surrounding Lake Chad in the face of future climate change. more
Nzalalemba Serge Kubanza, of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, examined environmental justice in the context of solid waste management in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. more
Martin Flatø, of the University of Oslo, Norway, examined households in South Africa in which women are the senior figure—so called female-headed households—and demonstrated that they are substantially more economically vulnerable to climate variation. more
Maria Rivera, of the University of Maryland, USA, used a comprehensive review to examine whether REDD+ is the best policy instrument for the Virunga Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. more
Mayank Prakash, of the International Institute for Population Sciences, India, investigated water quality and management in the slums of Mumbai to help policymakers develop improved water delivery services. more
Jiayi Fang, of Beijing Normal University, China, demonstrated that although marine disaster reduction measures by the Chinese government have been effective, they will face new challenges under climate change. more
Kamshat Tussupova, of Lund University, Sweden, aimed to help improve water policy efficiency by integrating the views of stakeholders into water supply planning. more
Devyani Singh, of the University of British Columbia, Canada, examined recent trends in India for replacing fuelwood with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the main source of household cooking energy. more
Asif Khan, of Cambridge University, UK, assessed the accuracy of hydro-climatic studies for six sub-basins of the Upper Indus Basin (UIB), showing that precipitation datasets and hydrological models should be carefully selected and tested, particularly for mountain regions. more
Kakoli Borkotoky, of the International Institute for Population Sciences, India, investigated the trends in dietary patterns in India, showing that total calorie intake increases with education, but the consumption of some foods, such as red meat and alcohol, declined with an increase in education. more
Dolly Kumari, of the International Institute for Population Sciences, India, examined how care of the elderly can affect the health of both care-giver and receiver. more
Sam Hyun Yoo, of the World Population Program, is calculating fertility projections for South Korea over the next two decades to assess the effects of delayed childbearing and a reduced number of births per woman. more
Teppo Repo, of the University of Eastern Finland, explored the spatial differences in treatment outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes, in an effort to help optimize use of health care resources in North Karelia, Finland. more
Using the case study of the promotion of electric cars in the UK, Anton Talantsev, of Stockholm University, Sweden, developed an approach to identify and profile policy stakeholders, a vital step in achieving successful policy. more
Miguel Poblete Cazenave, of Stony Brook University, USA, estimated optimal retirement ages based on income, health status, and life expectancy in the context of increasing life expectancies. more
Adam French, of the Advanced Systems Analysis and Risk, Policy and Vulnerability programs, is examining the potential for watersheds in the water-stressed Global South to switch to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), an integrated, multi-sectoral form of water governance. more
Zarrar Khan, of the Comillas Pontifical University, Spain; TUDelft, the Netherlands; and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, created an integrated water and energy model, demonstrating that the water-energy nexus is crucial to resource management strategies. more
Peter Bednarik, of the Evolution and Ecology and Risk, Policy and Vulnerability programs, designed a computer game based on the forestry sector which can be used to investigate the conditions under which a “tragedy of the commons” would be avoided. more
Christina Kaiser is working in the Evolution and Ecology Program using a computer model that she developed and tested herself which simulates decomposing litter or soil at microbial-relevant scales to understand mechanisms emerging from complex microbial interactions at the microscale. more
Franziska Gaupp, of the University of Oxford, UK, used the copula methodology to model drought events and subsequent yield losses in regions that produce large proportions of the world’s food. more
Luciano Mendes, of the Ecosystem Services & Management and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution programs, has embarked on two projects linked to reducing agricultural pollution and optimizing resource use on farms. more
Oludunsin Tunrayo Arodudu, of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research and University of Potsdam, Germany, used human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) and life cycle assessment (LCA) frameworks to quantify the sustainability of agriculture-based bioenergy. more
Oleg Nurmukhametov, of the Ural Federal University, Russia, explored how to get the most out of citizen science by using a machine learning algorithm to increase the reliability of the data produced. more
Johanna Wehkamp, of the Technical University of Berlin and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, examined which countries have the most effective institutions to reduce deforestation. more
Benedict Singleton, of Örebro University, Sweden, compared Elinor Ostrom’s design principles with cultural theory to understand the situations that arise when common pool resources are harvested, and improve management. more
Luis Gustavo Tudeschini, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, investigated living conditions in the country, and how much energy and resultant carbon emissions it would require to improve them. more