What is IIASA?
An introduction to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
CONTENTS1. Major Global Challenges2. IIASA’s History3. IIASA’s Approach4. Research Strategy, Output and
Impact
MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
FOODMAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
FOOD• 870 million people were undernourished
in 2012 (FAO)
• By 2030, the world’s population will have increased by one billion (IIASA)
• Agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals (UN Water)
MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
WATER
WATER• 783 million people have inadequate
access to safe freshwater (WHO & UNICEF)
• Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century (FAO & UN-Water)
• Hydropower supplies about 20% of the world’s electricity (ICOLD)
MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
ENERGY
ENERGY• 2.5 billion people are without access to
modern energy (IIASA/GEA) • World primary energy demand expected to
increase by 33% between 2011 & 2035 (IEA)• Energy production and consumption
contributes over 80% of global GHG emissions (IIASA)
MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
CLIMATE CHANGE
CLIMATE CHANGE• Each of the last three decades has been
successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850 (IPCC)
• Global surface temperature change for the end of the 21st century is likely to exceed 1.5°C relative to 1850 for all scenarios (IPCC)
• 70 million Africans could suffer from devastating floods as a result of climate change (IPCC)
MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES
POVERTY & EQUITY
POVERTY & EQUITY• 1.2 billion people are still living in
extreme poverty (UN MDG)
• 60.9 % of workers in the developing world still live on less than US$4 a day (UN MDG)
• “Hunger is a cause of poverty, not just a consequence of it.” (FAO)
INEXTRICABLY LINKED
Energy & Climate Change
Poverty & Equity
Food & Water
RESEARCHING GLOBAL CHALLENGES
• Integrated• Interdisciplinary• International • Independent• Solution-oriented• Long term• Trade offs
} = Systems Analysis
IIASA helps to put the puzzle together
IIASA’S HISTORY
THE 1960s
Sources: nuclearweaponarchive.org, The Guardian, US Department of Interior,
Sources: IIASA
1972
IIASA’S APPROACH
ATTRACT THE BEST SCIENTISTS
Scientific Staff 300Research visitors to IIASA 1,400Other worldwide collaborators (including ~25% of IIASA alumni network)
~800
TOTAL (for 2013) ~2500
In addition, IIASA collaborates with almost 300 institutions from 65 countries
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Professor Tjalling Koopmansand Professor Leonid Kantorovich Nobel Prize in Economics (1975)
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Professor Paul CrutzenNobel Prize for Chemistry (1995)
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Professor Thomas C. SchellingNobel Prize for Economics (2005)
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
Nobel Peace Prize (2007)
YOUNG SCIENTISTS
SUMMER PROGRAM
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTISTS
30%
41%
29%
Natural Scientists & EngineersSocial ScientistsMathematicians and others
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
HOME OF IIASA SINCE 1972
IIASA’S MEMBERS:
Represent scientific community of a country and are often the National Academy or principal
research funding agency
FUNDING
• Annual income in 2013 was €17.9 million of which 53% was from IIASA’s National Member Organizations
• Additional funding comes from contracts and grants. Between 2006 and 2013, IIASA’s research was awarded grants that amounted to €62.5 million. This was part of a total funding portfolio of €308.5 million of the external projects in which IIASA was and is involved.
RESEARCH STRATEGY,
OUTPUT AND IMPACT
IIASA’S STRATEGY 2011-2020
MISSIONTo provide insight and guidance to policymakers worldwide by finding solutions to global and universal
problems through applied systems analysis in order to improve human and social wellbeing and to protect
the environment.
OUTPUT: JOURNAL ARTICLES
2010 2011 2012 2013Peer-reviewed journal articles according to SCOPUS 129 150 175 254
JOURNAL ARTICLES & CITATONS
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Citations Journal Articles
Cita
tions
Jour
nal A
rtic
les
EXAMPLE OF IIASA’S IMPACT
EFFECTS OF AIR
POLLUTION
CAUSES OF
AIR POLLUTION
Cut sulfur dioxide by
30%
Cut sulfur dioxide by
30%
Moderate costs Very high costs
Ecosystem highly resilient to acid rain
Ecosystem highly vulnerable to acid
rain
For 43 European countries:
THE RAINS MODEL
• Pollution generation & control options, including costs
• Atmospheric transport and deposition
• Impacts on the environment
ASK THE RAINS MODELAny number of “What if…?” questions:
• How much would it cost to reduce sulfur dioxide levels to a given standard for all of Europe?
• For the worst-affected areas only? • What is the cheapest way to stop acidification of
forest soils in Bohemia? • What would be the impact of a new emissions
standard for, say, power plants on eutrophication? On acidification? On ozone formation?
RAINS gives answers to such questions, usually within minutes.
INTERNATIONAL TREATYConvention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution
• Signed by 33 European governments• One of the most successful multilateral treaties
protecting the environment• Helped Europe to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 60%
over the past 20 years• With support of RAINS, treaty and EU now tackles
multiple air pollutants (SO2, NOX, NH3, VOCs, PMs)
RAINS extended to include greenhouse gases (GAINS) and used by numerous parties and organizations involved in climate change negotiations
CLEAN AIR IN EUROPE
Thank you
For further information about IIASA:www.iiasa.ac.at or [email protected]
Subscribe to IIASA’s publications:www.iiasa.ac.at/keepintouch
Top Related