The agricultural, forestry, and land use (AFOLU) sector plays an integral role in this transformation, not only due to its direct linkages to our lives (e.g., diet and recreation), but also due to the sector’s potential to absorb and capture atmospheric carbon. These options present a potential conflict between the economic uses of land and climate change risks.
The research project, Zero emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use in the Eisenwurzen and beyond (ZEAFOLU), which is funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, aims to examine the biophysical option space (i.e., the sum of feasible scenarios), of a world without AFOLU emissions in 2050. This option space, determined by, for example, agricultural technology, spatial patterns of land use, diets, and biomass demand, will be evaluated in terms of their impacts on biodiversity, the well-being of the population, and the economy, by means of a participatory process. In order to systematically scrutinize the dependency of the option space from biomass production and trade, which can result in a spatial disconnect between production and consumption, the project utilizes a nested analytical design in which the zero-AFOLU constraint is to be reached at four different spatial scales. This includes the Eisenwurzen region in Upper Austria – a long-term socio-ecological research (LTSER) platform site – as the focal region of research; Austria at the national scale; as well as the European and global levels.
ZEAFOLU is led by the Institute for Social Ecology and the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in cooperation with the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), the Wegener Center Graz, and the ÖAR Regionalberatung GmbH.
IIASA contribution
At IIASA, research on systemic and qualitative evaluations of cumulative emissions is implemented at the Advanced System Analysis Program, which aims to provide insights into how the AFOLU sector limits or relaxes the cumulative emission allowances of non-AFOLU sectors if the 2°C or 1.5°C target is to be met. The short- and long-term implications for human well-being in the region, both objective and subjective, are to be evaluated in a co-production process with regional stakeholders. This task is implemented by IIASA Risk and Resilience Program researchers, Wei Liu and Jenan Irshaid, together with the ÖAR Regionalberatung GmbH and dozens of regional stakeholders from various AFOLU related sectors.
CONTACT DETAILS
Guest Senior Research Scholar Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Guest Research Scholar Equity and Justice Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program
Researcher Equity and Justice Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program
Researcher Water Security Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program
1.9.2017 - 30.6.2021
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International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313