The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent International research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna in Austria, founded as an East-West scientific cooperation initiative during the Cold War. Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-oriented interdisciplinary research into issues too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. These include climate change, energy security, population aging, and sustainable development. The results of IIASA research and the expertise of its researchers are made available to policymakers worldwide to help them make informed and evidence-based policies.
Nearly 500 researchers from 50 countries currently work with the institute. IIASA's international and interdisciplinary network includes staff, alumni, member communities, collaborators, diplomatic partners, and visiting fellows.
IIASA is a non-governmental institution funded by scientific organizations in its member countries, which include Austria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.[4] In 2022, IIASA increased its membership footprint through the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Member Organization (SSARMO),[5] as part of a regional approach to participation in IIASA research and capacity building activities. SSARMO includes 17 African countries (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) who are participating in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in sub-Saharan Africa. Funding for the institute also comes from contracts, grants, and donations from governments, international organizations, academia, business, and individuals.[6] Its research is independent and is not constrained by political or national self-interest of member countries.
History
IIASA was established by a charter signed on 4 October 1972 by representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, and ten other countries from the Eastern and Western blocks at The Royal Society in London.[7] It was the culmination of six years’ effort driven forward by both the US President Lyndon Johnson and the USSR Premier Alexei Kosygin. For IIASA, it was the beginning of a project to use scientific cooperation to build bridges across the Cold War divide and to confront growing global problems on a truly international scale.[8] The first scientist arrived at IIASA in June 1973.[9]
IIASA built international multidisciplinary teams to confront innumerable global challenges both long-standing and emerging. For example, a study on water pollution carried out in the 1980s by a team of IIASA chemists, biologists, and economists still forms the basis of modern water policy design in Japan, USA, and the former USSR.[10]
Instead of closing in the 1990s upon the end of the Cold War, the institute broadened its mandate from bridging East and West to a general global focus. Today, IIASA brings together a wide range of scientific skills to provide science-based insights into critical policy issues in international and national debates on global change.[11]
Current research
The IIASA mission is to provide scientific guidance to policymakers by finding solutions to global problems through applied systems analysis in order to improve human well-being and protect the environment. The institute is at the forefront of promoting science diplomacy and fostering debates about how science can help build trust between nations and support foreign policies.
The Vienna Statement on Science Diplomacy, a document created by IIASA, advocating for a renewed global commitment to international scientific cooperation to help countries build stronger relations for the benefit of all of humanity, has been endorsed by close to two hundred eminent personalities from the academic and policymaking community, including H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 8th UN Secretary-General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, and H.E. Tarja Halonen, 11th President of the Republic of Finland and member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation.
In 2021, IIASA embarked on a new strategy to develop and apply systems science to support transformations to sustainability. Building on almost fifty years experience in systems science, the IIASA Strategy 2021-2030 positions the institute to be the primary destination for integrated systems solutions and policy insights to current, emerging, and novel global sustainability challenges, threats, and opportunities. The strategy combines three integrated pillars—research, impact enhancement, and implementation—to deliver on this vision.
To support the IIASA strategy, the institute also implemented a re-designed research structure to enhance the integration of scientific work across the institute and so strengthen IIASA as it navigates the global system of systems. The new structure has two tiers consisting of six research programs which are in turn split into research groups, with the option to activate or deactivate groups as priorities change: Advancing Systems Analysis, Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Economic Frontiers, Energy, Climate, and Environment, Population and Just Societies, and Strategic Initiatives.[12]
The Greenhouse Gases – Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model was launched in 2006 as an extension to the RAINS model which is used to assess cost-effective response strategies for combating air pollution, such as fine particles and ground-level ozone. The Chinese Government officially adopted GAINS in 2019 to strengthen air quality management in the country.[15]
The IIASA led Arctic Futures Initiative (AFI), in collaboration with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs culminated in a report that considered how different Arctic actors define and address issues around the human dimension, governance, international cooperation, environmental protection, pollution, climate change, security, safety, economy, tourism, infrastructure, and science and education.
IIASA is a core member of the Food and Land Use (FOLU) Coalition that brings together stakeholders from academia and the public and private sectors to identify and advance solutions that deliver food security, healthy and affordable diets, halt biodiversity loss, restore and protect ecosystem services, and mitigate climate change and environmental pollution.
A partnership with the Global Environment Facility and the UN Industrial Development Organization, the Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (ISWEL) project, developed tools and capacities for the cohesive management of water, energy, and land resources in the Indus and Zambezi basins.
Together with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), IIASA initiated the Food Agriculture Land Use Biodiversity and Energy (FABLE) Consortium as a knowledge platform. FABLE brings together research and policy teams from 20 developed and developing countries to advance analytical tools and model-aided decision support to analyze the ability of development pathways to meet national aspirations, while also collectively aligning with, among others, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.
The IIASA Challenges and Opportunities for Economic Integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space project served as a platform where key stakeholders could engage in evidence-based dialogue. In 2018 the project published three reports containing analyses and recommendations in several important areas. The first report compared product standards and technical regulations in the region and revealed that the Eurasian Economic Union has already adopted international standards more fully than previously realized. The second report on foreign direct investment highlighted that capital flows between the European Union and Russia are declining. The third report looked at trans-Eurasian land transport corridors and argued that enhancing trade between Europe and Asia would require increased capacity, the removal of infrastructure bottlenecks, harmonization of regulatory environments, and enhanced associated investments.
The IIASA's Global Energy Assessment was released in 2012. The report was a result of the collaborative and integrated work of over 500 authors, analysts and reviewers worldwide who contributed independent, scientifically based and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. The assessment provides an analysis of energy-related issues including sustainable development, poverty eradication, climate change mitigation, health, energy security, and energy access.
Johansson, Thomas (2012). Global Energy Assessment (GEA. Cambridge Laxenburg, Austria: Cambridge University Press International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. ISBN978-0-521-18293-5. OCLC810924682.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) set up the IPCC in 1988. The United Nations endorsed the creation of the IPCC later that year. It has a secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the WMO. It has 195 member states who govern the IPCC. The member states elect a bureau of scientists to serve through an assessment cycle. A cycle is usually six to seven years. The bureau selects experts in their fields to prepare IPCC reports. There is a formal nomination process by governments and observer organizations to find these experts. The IPCC has three working groups and a task force, which carry out its scientific work.
The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy is a German research institution for sustainability research, focusing on impacts and practical application. It explores and develops models, strategies, and instruments to support sustainable development at local, national, and international levels. Research at the Wuppertal Institute focuses on ecology and its relation to economy and society. Special emphasis is put on analyzing and supporting technological and social innovations that decouple the prosperity of economic growth from the use of natural resources. The organization's activities focus on developing transformation processes aimed at shaping a climate-friendly and resource-efficient world.
The Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) is a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was published in 2000. The greenhouse gas emissions scenarios described in the Report have been used to make projections of possible future climate change. The SRES scenarios, as they are often called, were used in the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR), published in 2001, and in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), published in 2007. The SRES scenarios were designed to improve upon some aspects of the IS92 scenarios, which had been used in the earlier IPCC Second Assessment Report of 1995. The SRES scenarios are "baseline" scenarios, which means that they do not take into account any current or future measures to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Paul Raskin is the founding president of the Tellus Institute, which has conducted over 3,500 research and policy projects throughout the world on environmental issues, resource planning, scenario analysis, and sustainable development. His research and writing has centered on propagating the Great Transition. Raskin has served as a lead author on a number of high-profile international reports, including the U.S. National Academy of Science's Board on Sustainability, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the United Nations Environment Programme's Global Environment Outlook, the Earth Charter, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report.
Richard "Rich" Gayle Richels directs global climate change research at the Electric Power Research Institute. Richels received a BS degree in physics from the College of William & Mary. He was awarded MS and PhD degrees in decision science from Harvard University's Division of Applied Sciences.
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a German government-funded research institute addressing crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts, and sustainable development. Ranked among the top environmental think tanks worldwide, it is one of the leading research institutions and part of a global network of scientific and academic institutions working on questions of global environmental change. It is a member of the Leibniz Association, whose institutions perform research on subjects of high relevance to society.
Ottmar Georg Edenhofer is a German economist who is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on climate change policy, environmental and energy policy, and energy economics. His work has been heavily cited. Edenhofer currently holds the professorship of the Economics of Climate Change at the Technical University of Berlin. Together with Earth scientist Johan Rockström, economist Ottmar Edenhofer is scientific director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), representing the interdisciplinary and solutions-oriented approach of the institute. Furthermore, he is director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC). From 2008 to 2015 he served as one of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III "Mitigation of Climate Change".
Jyoti Kirit Parikh is the current Executive Director of Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe). She was a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change –India and is a recipient of Nobel Peace Prize awarded To IPCC authors in 2007. She was a Senior Professor at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. She also worked at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria and served as a senior energy consultant at the National Institution for Transforming India (1978–80). She was a visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) of UNU, Tokyo (1995–96). She was the Acting Director of IGIDR for 1997-98. She has experience for nearly thirty years on energy and environment problems of the developing countries.
Thomas C. Heller is a climate policy lawyer and academic. He currently serves as the chairman of the board for Climate Policy Initiative, an organization he founded in 2009 that works to improve energy and land use policies, with offices and programs in Brazil, China, Europe, India, and Indonesia, and the United States.
Anatoly Shvidenko is a doctor of Biological sciences, professor, and senior research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria.
Novim is a non-profit group at the University of California, Santa Barbara that organizes teams for objective scientific study of global issues and identification options for addressing the concerns, based upon a collaborative problem-solving approach used in the field of physics.
The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."
Nebojsa Nakicenovic is an energy economist.
William R. Moomaw is the Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Moomaw has worked at the intersection of science and policy, advocating for international sustainable development. His activities have included being a long-time contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and an author on the seminal "Perspective" paper on proforestation.
The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) conducts research and fosters dialogue about how the global commons, such as the atmosphere and the oceans, might be used and shared by many yet nevertheless be protected. In 2021, the International Center for Climate Governance ranked MCC among the top ten think tanks worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.
Fatima Denton is a British-Gambian climatologist. She is the director at the Ghanaian branch of the United Nations University, at the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) in Accra. She focuses on innovation, science, technology and natural resource management. She partners with countries such as Benin and Liberia to develop and implement country needs assessment missions.
Shobhakar Dhakal is a Professor and former Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand since April 2021. He also served as Dean of School of Environment, Resources and Development, and Head of Department of Energy Environment and Climate Change of Asian Institute of Technology. His main areas of expertise are in energy policy, climate change mitigation and policies, policy modelling and analysis, and cities and climate change. Dhakal actively contributes to international and scientific arena.
Joeri Rogelj is a Belgian climate scientist working on solutions to climate change. He explores how societies can transform towards sustainable futures. He is a Professor in Climate Science and Policy at the Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP) and Director of Research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment, both at Imperial College London. He is also affiliated with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He is an author of several climate reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change.
Youba SokonaFAAS FTWAS (born 23 May 1950) is a Malian expert in the fields of energy and sustainable development, particularly in Africa. He has been the vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since October 2015 and a lead author at the IPCC since 1990.
↑ "Dr. Roger E. Levien"(PDF). VI Congreso Nacional Bibliotecas Publicas. 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
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