Page - 4 - in options, Volume summer 2016

research news 4 options + summer 2016 www.iiasa.ac.at iiasa research New IIASA research plan charts course to  sustainable future In April 2016, IIASA launched a new research plan, which sets the institute’s research priorities for the next five years. Adopted following a year‑long period of discussion including IIASA researchers, council members, and outside experts, the plan brings new clarity and purpose to the institute’s research goals, while allowing for flexibility in the face of changing scientific or policy priorities. IIASA has long been a leader in interdisciplinary research that crosses global problem areas—for example, a growing body of IIASA research has shown that investing in solutions to address energy access, climate change, and air pollution can bring substantial cost savings and benefits compared to solutions focused on one problem, while avoiding trade‑offs. You can read more about the impacts from the last five years of IIASA research in the recent document, IIASA Highlights 2011–2015. The new research plan reflects the key role of such cross‑cutting research in solving the interconnected challenges faced by humanity. While the previous framework at IIASA divided research areas into problem areas, the new plan explicitly recognizes that problems (such as climate change), drivers (such as population growth), and impacts (such as environmental degradation) are all inextricably connected within the planetary system. This  holistic framework will allow IIASA to provide even clearer, more practical advice to policymakers. KL Further info www.iiasa.ac.at/researchplan § www.iiasa.ac.at/Highlights2015 Geoff Clarke clarke@iiasa.ac.at Making biofuels better for the climate Biofuel policy in Europe has been under scrutiny lately with intense debate around its efficiency in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuel production can take up agricultural land otherwise used for food and feed, and lead to land‑use conversion elsewhere that would offset some of the climate benefits of the policy, a problem known as indirect land‑use change. In a new study for the European Commission in partnership with the consultancies Ecofys and E4tech, IIASA  researchers have now assessed the varying levels of impact that different biofuels have on land‑use change and the climate. IIASA researcher Hugo Valin led the modeling for the study. He says, “First generation biofuels have been criticized in the past due to their indirect land‑use change impact, which our study confirms. But by looking at a much broader range of biofuel options, we clearly show that not all biofuels are equal.” On one end of the spectrum, the study shows that certain types of vegetable oils, such as palm or soybean oil, can lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions. It also shows that impacts of ethanol feedstocks are lower than for biodiesel, in particular for high‑yield crops such as sugar beet or maize. And on the other end of the spectrum, second generation crops, included for the first time in the analysis for the EU, showed a good performance overall, with net negative emissions in several cases. KL Further info Valin  H, Peters  D, van  den  Berg  M, Frank  S, Havlik  P, Forsell  N, Hamelinck  C (2015). The land use change impact of biofuels consumed in  the EU: Quantification of area and greenhouse gas impacts. Ecofys, IIASA, and  E4tech for the European Commission. Project number BIENL13120. Hugo Valin valin@iiasa.ac.at