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Climate finance is a key instrument to enable the global response to climate change. Special financial arrangements are required to scale up investment in mitigation alongside adaptation to facilitate the transformation of global societies to a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable future. In 2022, at UNFCCC COP27 the third pillar, a loss and damage fund, was pledged to address the impacts of climate change that cannot be reversed through mitigation or adaptation measures. However, until now, both the quality and quantity of climate finance pledges remains inadequate to fund the required interventions. This policy paper provides recommendations from a consultation process with a panel of experts, who addressed the challenges and opportunities associated with finding adequate climate finance in pursuit of climate progress and sustainable development.

Well-functioning health systems are a pre-requisite for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) Good Health and Wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the global health system should become more effective and equitable. The World Health Organization (WHO) serves as a vital resource for countries to enhance their national public health systems, and as a catalyst and enabler of multilateral cooperation for addressing global health-related threats. This policy paper proposes several key recommendations that, in the view of an expert panel, could be implemented in the near term to further strengthen and empower the WHO.

The dynamics of the global trade system is a key influencer in the transition to a sustainable future for humanity. This policy paper emerged from a consultation process with a panel of renowned experts. They focused on how the World Trade Organization (WTO) could be strengthened to provide a global trade system supportive of the sustainability agenda. It is recognized that the WTO was conceived in a different world from the one we live in today, geopolitically and ideologically. This policy paper raises several key recommendations that, in the view of the expert panel, could be implemented in the short term and would achieve a substantial impact to expand the mandate and influence of the WTO, within the broader context of improving global governance to address global societal challenges.

A sustainable, efficient, and thriving modern global multilateral system needs a functional and proactive the United Nations (UN). The UN represents the hopes and aspirations of millions of people around the world for a better life. Consequently, it is imperative that the UN is fully capable of setting and executing the required collective global multilateral agenda. This objective has not yet been fully achieved, and numerous bodies and critics have been calling for a fundamental reform of the UN for a number of years. This policy paper is the result of expert consultations focused on identifying necessary, near-term reforms for the United Nations (UN) which are both feasible and capable of obtaining wide support.

This report fulfils the ABM2Policy project Deliverable 2.2: A scientific report describing the protocol and outcomes of the migration-focused gamification exercise and the usefulness of an agent-based model for policy assessment. The goals guiding the research of the ABM2Policy project are twofold: i) to advance macroeconomic agent-based model (ABM) methodology for a realistic and verifiable analysis of migration as an external economic shock to the Austrian national economy, and ii) to explore the usefulness of an ABM combined with a gamified user-interface to support the Austrian migration policymaking discussions and to enhance stakeholder engagement. This Deliverable reports on the second project goal. The ABM was ‘gamified’ by developing a model-based policy exercise (PE) in the complex policy setting of climate migration to Austria. The results of the simulations of a macroeconomic ABM informed (role-playing) stakeholder deliberations, and in some instances, consensus emerged on complex climate migration policy issues. The PE brought to the fore the diverse and often conflicting viewpoints regarding migration through a process of discussion and negotiation, which in turn helped the participants understand the complexities of migration issues in the Austrian context. Overall, the PE participants assessed the game to be an effective tool for gaining knowledge and understanding of the policy process on environmental migration. The preliminary trials show promise in combining an ABM with a PE to support stakeholder deliberations on the migration policy process. The next step is to conduct a similar policy exercise with relevant Austrian stakeholders, e.g., political party members and public officials, to inform actual policy processes.

The Internet as a common good implies the absence of any restrictions, closures, and blockages with censorship being unacceptable in democratic societies. However, it can lead to the uncontrolled growth and spread of disinformation and misinformation, which can have negative effects on democratic processes, on emergency management, and on human rights. While part of society sees the Internet as the last free space and considers the restriction of the Internet an infringement of citizens’ rights to freedom of communication and information, another part of society advocates at least reasonable censorship of the Internet. Parallel to this is the question of who will be behind the censorship – will it be the government, private companies, platforms, or search engines, and what will be the rules and algorithms of censorship. As part of its participation in the CORE project (sCience&human factOr for Resilient sociEty), IIASA held an online consultation with project participants to discuss the topic of “Internet as a free space and methods for combating the spread of disinformation and misinformation” and to prepare key principles and commitments as a contribution to the Global Digital Compact. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the key points raised by the participants in the consultation process