Page - 2 - in options, Volume winter 2015/2016

editorial 2 options + winter 2015/2016 options Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat Director General and CEO, IIASA www.iiasa.ac.at About IIASA The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, located near Vienna, Austria, is an international scientific institute that conducts policy-relevant research into problems too large or complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline. IIASA’s scientists research + energy and climate change; + food and water; and + poverty and equity. IIASA produces + data, models, and research tools; + refereed scientific literature; and + policy-relevant information. IIASA helps + countries make better-informed policy; + develop international research networks; and + support the next generation of scientists. IIASA is sponsored by its National Member Organizations in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam. IIASA A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria Phone +43 2236 807 0 Fax +43 2236 71313 E-mail info@iiasa.ac.at Web www.iiasa.ac.at twitter.com/iiasavienna facebook.com/iiasa blog.iiasa.ac.at linkedin.com/company/iiasa-vienna youtube.com/iiasalive flickr.com/iiasa I I A S A Bringing systems analysis  down to Earth Mathematical models can often seem complex and theoretical, only thinly tethered to reality.But this is an illusion. In our complex modern age, the mathematical tools of systems analysis are in fact some of the most useful methods we  have to understand the world around us, and solve the interlinked problems facing humanity and the planet. In September, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, a  set of 17 goals with 169 targets aimed at achieving major progress on poverty, health, energy, climate, and other topics. Efforts to reach one goal will not happen in isolation—they will ripple out and affect the headway made toward  the others. In this issue, you will read about new IIASA research that aims to understand these  ripple effects, to project interactions so that policymakers can plan policies that bring benefits on multiple goals, rather than working against each other (page  14). You will discover new insights into the interaction between climate mitigation and adaptation policies, which are too often addressed in isolation (page  12). And you will find a unique visualization of the process of systems analysis and its application to real-world problems (page  18). The research you read about in each issue of Options is grounded in methods  and  models that were developed by the pioneers of systems analysis, and which continue to be advanced by IIASA researchers and their global network of collaborators. IIASA has been a hub for systems analysis research since its very beginnings: Howard  Raiffa, the institute’s first director, is a pioneer in the field of decision  analysis, one of the first to apply statistical and behavioral theories to  the  questions  of policymaking. At the 2015 Systems Analysis Conference in  November—which is dedicated to Raiffa—Laxenburg will once again welcome  the  brightest minds in the field. The research that they present will  demonstrate the unique ability of systems thinking to provide real, practical  solutions to almost  overwhelmingly complex global problems, giving us the basis for a truly sustainable future. + About Options Options magazine features recent IIASA research and activities Executive editor Philippa Brooks Managing editor Katherine Leitzell Copy editor Daisy Brickhill Writers Daisy Brickhill, Katherine Leitzell, Kathryn Platzer Contributing writers Kerry Skyring, Christine Whitehouse Expert reviewers Markus Amann, Jesse Ausubel, Ligia Azavedo, Ulf Dieckmann, Oskar Franklin, Sabine Fuss, Nils Johnson, Matthias Jonas, Pavel Kabat, Zbigniew Klimont, Nadejda Komendantova, Florian Kraxner, Mia Landauer, Sylvain Leduc, David McCollum, Reinhard Mechler, Junko Mochizuki, Raya Muttarak, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Michael Obersteiner, Shonali Pachauri, Amanda Palazzo, Sebastian Poledna, Narasimha Rao, Wolf Reuter, Keywan Riahi, Joeri Rogelj, Elena Rovenskaya, Warren Sanderson, Sergei Scherbov, David Shanafelt, Anatoly Shvidenko, Benedict Singleton, Nadia Steiber, Erich Striessnig, Laixiang Sun, Stefan Thurner, Brian Walsh, Matthias Wildemeersch Copyright © 2015 IIASA ZVR 524808900 Prepared by IIASA Communications–Library–Media Department Acting Head: Philippa Brooks Printed by Remaprint, Vienna Options is sent to over 6,500 policymakers, diplomats, and scientists. If you would like to update your subscription preferences or subscribe to Options or other IIASA publications, please visit www.iiasa.ac.at/keepintouch. Sections of Options may be reproduced with acknowledgment to IIASA. Please send a copy of any reproduced material. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions of IIASA or its supporting organizations.