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Institution

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

NonprofitLaxenburg, Austria
About: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is a nonprofit organization based out in Laxenburg, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Greenhouse gas. The organization has 1369 authors who have published 5075 publications receiving 280467 citations. The organization is also known as: IIASA.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study proposes a model unifying light-use efficiency relationships and a standard model of photosynthesis across species and ecosystems, and globally, and successfully predicts GPP measured at eddy-covariance flux sites.
Abstract: Gross primary production (GPP)-the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by leaves, and its conversion to sugars by photosynthesis-is the basis for life on land. Earth System Models (ESMs) incorporating the interactions of land ecosystems and climate are used to predict the future of the terrestrial sink for anthropogenic CO21 . ESMs require accurate representation of GPP. However, current ESMs disagree on how GPP responds to environmental variations 1,2 , suggesting a need for a more robust theoretical framework for modelling 3,4 . Here, we focus on a key quantity for GPP, the ratio of leaf internal to external CO2 (χ). χ is tightly regulated and depends on environmental conditions, but is represented empirically and incompletely in today's models. We show that a simple evolutionary optimality hypothesis 5,6 predicts specific quantitative dependencies of χ on temperature, vapour pressure deficit and elevation; and that these same dependencies emerge from an independent analysis of empirical χ values, derived from a worldwide dataset of >3,500 leaf stable carbon isotope measurements. A single global equation embodying these relationships then unifies the empirical light-use efficiency model 7 with the standard model of C3 photosynthesis 8 , and successfully predicts GPP measured at eddy-covariance flux sites. This success is notable given the equation's simplicity and broad applicability across biomes and plant functional types. It provides a theoretical underpinning for the analysis of plant functional coordination across species and emergent properties of ecosystems, and a potential basis for the reformulation of the controls of GPP in next-generation ESMs.

208 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an interdisciplinary team of social science researchers consider the implications of Covid-19 for the politics of sustainable energy transitions and highlight continuities and discontinuities with pre-pandemic trends.
Abstract: In this perspectives piece, an interdisciplinary team of social science researchers considers the implications of Covid-19 for the politics of sustainable energy transitions. The emergency measures adopted by states, firms, and individuals in response to this global health crisis have driven a series of political, economic and social changes with potential to influence sustainable energy transitions. We identify some of the initial impacts of the ‘great lockdown’ on sustainable and fossil sources of energy, and consider how economic stimulus packages and social practices in the wake of the pandemic are likely to shape energy demand, the carbon-intensity of the energy system, and the speed of transitions. Adopting a broad multi-scalar and multi-actor approach to the analysis of energy system change, we highlight continuities and discontinuities with pre-pandemic trends. Discussion focuses on four key themes that shape the politics of sustainable energy transitions: (i) the short, medium and long-term temporalities of energy system change; (ii) practices of investment around clean-tech and divestment from fossil fuels; (iii) structures and scales of energy governance; and (iv) social practices around mobility, work and public health. While the effects of the pandemic continue to unfold, some of its sectoral and geographically differentiated impacts are already emerging. We conclude that the politics of sustainable energy transitions are now at a critical juncture, in which the form and direction of state support for post-pandemic economic recovery will be key.

208 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that sharing the responsibility to sanction defectors rather than relying on certain individuals to do so permanently can solve the problem of costly punishment.
Abstract: Cooperators that refuse to participate in sanctioning defectors create the secondorder free-rider problem. Such cooperators will not be punished because they contribute to the public good, but they also eschew the costs associated with punishing defectors. Altruistic punishers—those that cooperate and punish—are at a disadvantage, and it is puzzling how such behaviour has evolved. We show that sharing the responsibility to sanction defectors rather than relying on certain individuals to do so permanently can solve the problem of costly punishment. Inspired by the fact that humans have strong but also emotional tendencies for fair play, we consider probabilistic sanctioning as the simplest way of distributing the duty. In well-mixed populations the public goods game is transformed into a coordination game with full cooperation and defection as the two stable equilibria, while in structured populations pattern formation supports additional counterintuitive solutions that are reminiscent of Parrondoʼs paradox.

207 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: N footprint tools provide a framework for people to make decisions about their resource use and show them how offsets can be coupled with behavior change to decrease consumer/institution contributions to N-related problems.
Abstract: The human alteration of the nitrogen cycle has evolved from minimal in the mid-19th century to extensive in the present time. The consequences to human and environmental health are significant. While much attention has been given to the extent and impacts of the alteration, little attention has been given to those entities (i.e., consumers, institutions) that use the resources that result in extensive reactive nitrogen (Nr) creation. One strategy for assessment is the use of nitrogen footprint tools. A nitrogen footprint is generally defined as the total amount of Nr released to the environment as a result of an entity's consumption patterns. This paper reviews a number of nitrogen footprint tools (N-Calculator, N-Institution, N-Label, N-Neutrality, N-Indicator) that are designed to provide that attention. It reviews N-footprint tools for consumers as a function of the country that they live in (N-Calculator, N-Indicator) and the products they buy (N-Label), for the institutions that people work in and are educated in (N-Institution), and for events and decision-making regarding offsets (N-Neutrality). N footprint tools provide a framework for people to make decisions about their resource use and show them how offsets can be coupled with behavior change to decrease consumer/institution contributions to N-related problems.

206 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted three stages of interviews with stakeholders to learn their perceptions of the risks most likely to affect renewable energy projects, and found that regulatory risks are perceived as being the most consequential, and the most likely, and that attention to building the capacities of North African countries to develop, implement and enforce sound regulations in a transparent manner could be an important step in promoting renewable energy cooperation with Europe.

205 citations


Authors

Showing all 1418 results

NameH-indexPapersCitations
Martin A. Nowak14859194394
Paul J. Crutzen13046180651
Andreas Richter11076948262
David G. Streets10636442154
Drew Shindell10234049481
Wei Liu102292765228
Jean-Francois Lamarque10038555326
Frank Dentener9722058666
James W. Vaupel8943434286
Keywan Riahi8731858030
Larry W. Horowitz8525328706
Robert J. Scholes8425337019
Mark A. Sutton8342330716
Brian Walsh8223329589
Börje Johansson8287130985
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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers from the Institution in previous years
YearPapers
202360
202263
2021414
2020406
2019383
2018325