28 August 2014

Dr. Petra Bohuslav, Lower Austrian Commissioner for Economics, in a working
dialog with IIASA in Alpbach

Last week IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Kabat met with Dr Petra Bohuslav to discuss how to strengthen cooperation between IIASA and the Province of Lower Austria

IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Kabat met with Dr Petra Bohuslav, Lower Austrian Commissioner for Economics, to discuss how to strengthen cooperation between IIASA and the Province of Lower Austria (August 2014).

Within the framework of the Alpbach Technology Symposium, the Province of Lower Austria held a joint working session on bioenergy and renewable resources with ecoplus, the Business Agency of the Province of Lower Austria. These areas are also a research focus of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg. "It is impressive to see the high level of research carried out in the Province of Lower Austria, and I am happy to note that we are moving into the same direction by making ideal use of the synergies of the individual institutions," says Dr. Petra Bohuslav, Lower Austrian Commissioner for Economics, after a working dialog with IIASA's Director General and CEO Prof. Dr. Pavel Kabat in Alpbach.

IIASA conducts research into problems that are too large or too complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. These are problems like climate change that have a global reach and can be resolved only by international cooperative action. Or global challenges such as how to transform to a sustainable global energy system, which was the focus of IIASA’s recent Global Energy Assessment.

IIASA Director General & CEO Prof. Pavel Kabat presents UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with a copy of the Global Energy Assessment. Both IIASA and the Lower Province of Austria focus research on sustainable energy.

The Province of Lower Austria is also focusing its research on renewable resources. The International Technology Centers Wieselburg and Tulln carry out intensive research in the field of bioenergy, which was also the central theme of this year's ecoplus breakout session. "In times of climate change it has become necessary to develop strategies that reduce energy consumption and that, at the same time, explore the potential of renewable resources," says Commissioner for Economics, Dr. Petra Bohuslav. "IIASA is an ideal partner for Lower Austria to cooperate on solutions toward the aim of a zero-carbon society."

Some 300 mathematicians, social scientists, natural scientists, economists, and engineers from over 45 countries carry out research at IIASA in Laxenburg. They are part of IIASA's global research network, comprising approximately 2,500 scientists. These range from world-renowned scholars – four Nobel Prize laureates have worked at IIASA – to young scientists just embarking on their careers. "Our mission is to provide insights 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 protect the environment," says IIASA's Director General and CEO Prof. Dr. Pavel Kabat. During Alpbach, Prof. Dr. Kabat held a high level retreat for leading minds from academia, governments, business and civil society to explore how to create and communicate positive pathways toward sustainable development. Early conclusions from the retreat were presented to H.E. Federal President Heinz Fischer on 26 August 2014.

Front - Franz Fischler (President, European Forum Alpbach), H.E. Tarja Halonen (Former President of Finland), H.E. Heinz Fischer (President of Austria), Pavel Kabat (Director General and Chief Executive Officer of IIASA), H.E. Mary Robinson (President of the Mary Robinson foundation for Climate Justice. Former President of Ireland and Chair of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, United Kingdom), Sonja Puntscher Riekmann (Vice President, European Forum Alpbach), Jeffrey Sachs (Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA).

Back row - Chin-Min Lee (Special Advisor to IIASA Director General), Jining Chen (President, Tsinghua University, China), Robbert Dijkgraaf (Director, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, USA), Clemens Hellsberg (President of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). European Forum Alpbach, August 2014.



Print this page

Last edited: 28 August 2014

DECLARATION OF THE ALPBACH LAXENBURG GROUP

Inequality must be a primary focus for the post 2015 sustainable development goals

GLOBAL ENERGY ASSESSMENT

Towards a sustainable energy future

Tweets from Alpbach

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313