Restructuring Systems to Limit Climate Change (LIMITS)

LIMITS is examining how to fundamentally restructure energy systems and land-use management practices on a global scale in order to limit warming from climate change to two degrees Celsius.

Plant in dry ground

Plant in dry ground

Overview

Limiting global temperature increase to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a target agreed to by more than 100 countries, requires dramatic cuts in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Such a transformation necessitates a fundamental restructuring of the way energy and land are managed, driven by unparalleled policy commitment and coordination from all of the world’s major economies.

The LIMITS project assesses a series of questions that are critical for developing climate policies that can achieve the stringent two-degree goal. The focus of the project is on technological challenges, economics, required policy regimes, implementation obstacles, and local and national air quality and energy security impacts.

IIASA Research

Researchers from IIASA’s Energy Program are using the MESSAGE-MACRO integrated assessment model to analyze the benefits of climate mitigation and the implications for strategies intended to achieve the two-degree goal. Program scientists will also examine historical trends in the diffusion of technology in order to inform future technological feasibility. IIASA’s Ecosystems Services and Management Program will use the GLOBIOM model to assess the environmental and economic implications of land use changes under the two-degree scenarios.


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Last edited: 19 January 2015

CONTACT DETAILS

Keywan Riahi

Program Director and Principal Research Scholar Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Principal Research Scholar Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Principal Research Scholar Pollution Management Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Principal Research Scholar Sustainable Service Systems Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

David McCollum

Guest Senior Research Scholar Sustainable Service Systems Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Guest Senior Research Scholar Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

Timeframe

01.12.2009 - 01.12.2012

RESEARCH PARTNERS

Further Information

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