IIASA

IIASA is an international, interdisciplinary research institute based near Vienna, Austria. www.iiasa.ac.at

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is a scientific research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna, Austria.

04/09/2026

AI and machine learning are opening up new possibilities for climate science – particularly when it comes to making sense of complex, large, and often incomplete datasets.

The next IIASA AI for Climate Science Seminar looks beyond what happens next to a harder question: What would happen if the system were different?

After a short summer break, the series returns with Dingling Yao, ELLIS PhD candidate at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA and visiting researcher at Caltech, for her talk, “Beyond prediction: Answering climate what-if questions from observations.”

Drawing on research into tropical cyclones and sea-surface temperatures, Yao will explore how AI systems can move beyond pattern matching to recover meaningful physical structure from observational data and reason more reliably about conditions not represented in their training data.

📅 Wednesday, 9 September 2026
🕓 16:00–17:30 CET
💻 Online via Zoom

⚠️ Registration is required for online participation.

👉 Register and find out more: https://iiasa.ac.at/events/sep-2026/ai-for-climate-science-seminar-series-beyond-prediction-answering-climate-what-if

📷 Justlight | Dreamstime.com

02/09/2026

🎧 Tonight at 9pm on Austrian radio Ö1: What does climate change mean for Austria – and what can we do about it?

Tune in to hear IIASA's Keywan Riahi discuss the findings of Austria’s second national climate assessment, with a focus on solutions, opportunities, and the choices ahead.

The broadcast features his lecture (as part of "Wiener Vorlesungen"), recorded at Vienna City Hall, moderated by Marlene Nowotny and followed by a conversation with Andreas Januskovecz.

👉 https://oe1.orf.at/programm/20260902/843966/Klimawandel-in-Oesterreich

📷 Source: Radio Ö1

02/09/2026

🌍 Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C within the next few years, pushing climate risks to increasingly dangerous heights. However, it is still possible to limit the magnitude and duration of and bring temperatures back down.

A new UN Environment Programme report, Limiting Overshoot, to which several IIASA researchers contributed as authors, identifies an “overshoot, peak, and decline” pathway as the best remaining option to limit warming, reduce harm, and bring global temperatures back below 1.5°C as soon as possible.

“Insufficient emission cuts mean we are set to exceed 1.5°C. This summer's extremes at not even 1.5°C show what's at stake. We need to win the race to net zero carbon emissions, massively upscale adaptation, address the loss and damage caused, and build up capacity for long-term warming reversal. Dealing with an overshoot world demands everything, everywhere, all at once,” says IIASA Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group Leader and report lead author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner.

What happens in an overshoot world – and what we can still do about it – will also be at the heart of the 2026 Overshoot Conference, co-hosted by IIASA and Tsinghua University in Beijing on 24–25 November.

📢 Researchers: Abstract submissions are open until 6 September. Join the conversation and help shape the scientific program 👉 https://overshootconference.org/sample-page/abstract-submission/

🎧 Want to understand climate overshoot and the choices ahead? Explore the Overshoot Conference Podcast, a nine-part series featuring leading experts on mitigation, carbon dioxide removal, tipping points, adaptation, loss and damage, climate justice, and more 👉 https://overshootconference.org/the-overshoot-conference-podcast/

🔗 Find out more: https://iiasa.ac.at/news/sep-2026/un-report-urges-immediate-action-on-overshoot-as-world-set-to-cross-15degc

📷 LCVA | Dreamstime

01/09/2026

🌍 We’re hiring: Researcher / Research Scholar – Climate Impacts and Damages

How do we better understand and anticipate the real-world impacts of a changing climate?

IIASA is looking for a researcher to work at the intersection of climate impacts, extreme events, attribution, and damages - developing indicators that connect observed impacts with future climate scenarios.

From heat and health to food, water, energy, ecosystems, and the economy, this role will help build a clearer picture of climate risks across interconnected systems.
📍 IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
🔗 Find out more and apply: https://iiasa.ac.at/employment/job-openings?jh=40pszb0gmzg6mt15devqrs9k00anef3

01/09/2026

🎉🎇 After three months of interdisciplinary research and scientific exchange, the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) 2026 has come to a close.

🌍 This year, 52 young researchers from 15 countries joined IIASA for an inspiring yet busy summer, during which they explored new methodologies, connected across scientific disciplines, and developed research seeking to address complex national, regional, and global challenges.

🤝 Most importantly, we hope that this was also a summer of new friendships, experiences, and adventures for these brilliant young researchers.

💡 We congratulate the 2026 cohort on their achievements and look forward to seeing how their research and new connections continue to make an impact on our world.

Learn more 👉 https://iiasa.ac.at/news/aug-2026/iiasa-2026-young-scientists-summer-program-concludes

31/08/2026

Calling all hobby gardeners in Lower Austria: research needs your green fingers and your garden knowledge!

Maybe you’ve found a plant the bees can’t resist, noticed fewer butterflies, or have a gardening tip that’s been in your family for years. These everyday observations matter to research.

IIASA’s citizen science project G/ArtenLeben brings local gardeners and researchers together to explore how gardens can support biodiversity. At our G/ArtenCafés, you’ll share experiences and help create a survey by gardeners, for gardeners. You don’t need a scientific background, just your curiosity and garden stories.

Choose a free workshop:
🌿 11 September, 14:00–17:00 - Schloss Laxenburg
🌿 18 September, 13:30–16:30 - ARCHE NOAH Schiltern
🌿 2 October, 14:00–17:00 - DIE GARTEN TULLN

We’ll provide coffee and cake, garden admission, an expert-led tour, and a €40 ARCHE NOAH voucher. Bring along a plant or photo with a story to share.
👉 Pick your date and register now. Participation is free, but advance registration is required.
Know a gardener who’d enjoy this? Pass it on: https://g-artenleben.at/de/page/garten-geschichten

Natur im Garten | Marktgemeinde Laxenburg | Biosphärenpark Wienerwald

28/08/2026

📢 The abstract submission deadline for the 2026 Overshoot Conference has been extended to 6 September.

Co-hosted by IIASA and Tsinghua University, the conference will bring researchers, policymakers, innovators, and communicators to Beijing on 24–25 November to advance the global dialogue on overshoot pathways and responses.

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted. If you haven’t, there’s still time.

🎧 Want a preview of the ideas shaping the conference? Explore the nine-part Overshoot podcast series, featuring expert perspectives on mitigation, tipping elements, carbon dioxide removal, adaptation, loss and damage, climate justice, and more.

More information: https://iiasa.ac.at/news/aug-2026/overshoot-conference-2026-in-beijing-abstract-deadline-extended

27/08/2026

🇫🇮 We are proud to celebrate 50 years of Finland’s IIASA membership!

Finland has been an important part of the Institute since 1976. Being an IIASA member goes beyond scientific collaboration: it gives countries a voice in the Institute’s governance and strategic direction, and provides a platform for bringing national perspectives and priorities into an international community working on shared global challenges.

It also creates opportunities to connect science with policy and strengthen science diplomacy – bringing countries together through science, building trust, and sharing knowledge and experience across borders.

Over five decades, Finland has brought valuable expertise, perspectives and people to IIASA. We greatly value this long-standing partnership and look forward to continuing to work together to advance systems thinking and science for better decision-making.

Olli Varis and Johanna Hakala share more in their recent blog post 👉 https://www.aka.fi/en/about-the-rcf/whats-new/blog2/2026/iiasa-offers-opportunities-for-analysing-global-challenges-with-top-tier-experts/

Research Council of Finland | Suomen Akatemia, Aalto University

26/08/2026

🌾 Wheat is not just a commodity. It is a staple food for a large part of the world's population. When severe drought spreads across several major production regions, the consequences can reach far beyond the affected fields, through international markets to countries and households thousands of miles away.

A new international study shows just how closely climate-driven water scarcity and global wheat prices are connected. A model based on severe water scarcity alone explained 74% of year-to-year variation in global wheat prices between 2000 and 2021, while future warming could further increase price pressures.

“Previous studies suggested that international trade would play a key role in adaptation to climate change. However, the extent of severe water scarcity projected by the current paper and its implications for agricultural commodity prices mean that a profound transformation of the whole food system will be required so that it continues to provide affordable food also in the coming decades,” says IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program Director and study coauthor Petr Havlik.

The research was led by long-standing IIASA collaborator Miroslav Trnka of the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Ústav výzkumu globální změny AV ČR - CzechGlobe).

Read more 🔗 https://iiasa.ac.at/news/aug-2026/climate-driven-water-scarcity-increases-wheat-prices-globally

📷 Pix569 | Dreamstime
American Geophysical Union (AGU)

25/08/2026

🎓 And that’s a wrap on this year's Final Colloquium presentations!

After two days of ideas, insights, and thought-provoking presentations, all of this year’s IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) participants have now had the chance to share what they’ve been working on over the summer.

Today brought another fascinating mix of research questions to the floor spanning Climate, Governance, and Human-Elephant Conflict in Nigeria, Low-Carbon Pathways for Global Water Scarcity Adaptation, and Innovating Disaster Risk Reduction through a Novel Population Health Resilience Index, among many others. 🌍💡

What connects all of these topics? A willingness to look at complex challenges from new angles, across disciplinary boundaries, and explore how systems thinking can help us better understand an interconnected world.

👏 Congratulations to all the 2026 YSSP participants on reaching this milestone and a big thank you to the IIASA researchers and mentors who have supported them along the way!

🔗 Find out more about the YSSP: https://iiasa.ac.at/early-career/yssp
🔎 Explore the topics addressed by this year's cohort:https://iiasa.ac.at/sites/default/files/2026-05/YSSP2026%20Abstract%20and%20Biosketch%20Booklet%20for%20web.pdf

Adresse

Schlossplatz 1
Laxenburg
2361

Telefon

+432236807316

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https://iiasa.ac.at/

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