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This year’s Laxenburg Environment and Climate Day organized by the municipality of Laxenburg, brought together local residents and regional stakeholders to discuss environmental topics and exchange information. As a "Climate Alliance" community in Austria, the municipality is committed to raising awareness about climate issues. IIASA has regularly co-hosted this annual event in the past and again participated in this year's outdoor event, which included a local tour to the Franz-Joseph-Park and the Rolling Hills — a local restoration site returned to nature over 10 years ago and now home to a number of species specific to the region. IIASA researcher Martin Jung introduced visitors to a biodiversity app, enabling them to identify and record the presence of multiple plant and insect species. He also gave a short presentation overview of why biodiversity is important, how our scientific understanding of conservation biology has changed over the last decades, and how IIASA research addresses key questions of societal relevance such as how much biodiversity has declined in the last decades and on the policy option space for interventions. “Despite most of our work addressing issues of global relevance and engaging in science-diplomacy between countries, it is important to listen and interact with local communities to understand how issues such as climate change or biodiversity loss are perceived. It also highlights to the local community the significance of the institute’s work and highlights its reputation in the scientific and policy world,” says Jung. INSTITUTE NEWS Message from the director IIASA CORNER IIASA is approaching its 50th year with optimism. With COVID-19 vaccinations on the rise, researchers and staff are cautiously being welcomed back to their offices in Laxenburg. Over the past 50 years, IIASA has been able to promote multilateralism and research cooperation among countries, and has been facilitating science diplomacy efforts since the Cold War up until the current COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, IIASA plans to organize a series of events throughout 2022 to highlight the institute’s achievements over the last half- century and the value of systems analysis in helping to address issues of global and universal concern. Plans are underway for international science conferences promoting global sustainability, and celebrations at the Schloss Park in Laxenburg. This was a big year for global climate research and headlines were generated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s sixth assessment report. As with previous reports, IIASA researchers provided valuable contributions. Research into the multiple aspects of climate change is a large part of the institute’s portfolio, as this issue of Options shows, and our researchers also provided highly relevant and timely inputs to this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, UK. Over the past 50 years, IIASA has been able to provide research leadership and the tools to make a difference through science. None of the institute’s accomplishments would however have been possible without the wonderful IIASA staff, alumni, and local supporters. I thank all of you for your continued dedication and commitment. The Laxenburg Environment and Climate Day ALBERT VAN JAARSVELD By Rachel Potter Further info: www.iiasa.ac.at/events/21-Laxenburg 26 Options www.iiasa.ac.atWinter 2021