Two seemingly contradictory problems confront IIASA energy and climate change researchers; the lack of access to energy prevents billions of people from participating meaningfully in modern society, while at the same time the use of fossil fuels by modern, industrialized societies threatens to irreversibly alter the Earth’s climate.

So strategies for providing energy to people across the globe are inextricably linked to efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and find the best ways to adapt to the increases in climate extremes caused by warming already underway.

IIASA’s energy and climate change research takes place within four themes:

• transformation of the global energy system to achieve a low-carbon world;
• reframing the greenhouse gas debate;
• managing energy and research and development investments; and
• improving energy use efficiency.

Transformation to a low-carbon energy system is critical because global energy use, currently fuelled 80 percent by fossil sources, must increase significantly if the nearly three billion people who now lack access to modern energy are to get it. The goal is to provide energy services to everyone, while at the same time cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half. IIASA will use its MESSAGE and GAINS models to study how best to move toward a “decarbonized” energy supply.

Reframing the climate change debate acknowledges that calls for cutting carbon emissions are seen in many countries as being in conflict with economic expansion and other policy objectives. IIASA’s goal is to develop a framework that aligns climate change mitigation and adaptation with other policy priorities by considering such things as green growth, sustainable development and resource efficient economies.

The infrastructure of existing energy systems – old and inefficient, yet with long life spans – presents a formidable challenge to improving energy efficiency and promoting research into and development of new systems. Replacing and upgrading current energy systems to meet increasing demand will require a doubling of current global energy investments to about $1.5 trillion per year. Energy R&D efforts should focus on efficiency and conservation, such as fuel-efficient vehicles and super-insulated houses, and on deployment of low-carbon and zero–emission technologies, including carbon capture and storage.

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Last updated: 01 Mar 2011