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 inf@iiasa.ac.at

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