ISF shares its internationally renowned research widely to increase its impact and to guide sustainability policy and practice across industry, government and in our communities. Our researchers collaborate with leading minds from around the world and their work is published in a range of formats.
Excellence in research
Website
Collaborative Housing: Building a Great Life Together
ISF research team: Chris Riedy, Caitlin McGee, Matthew Daly, Laura Wynne, Emilia de la Sienra
The Collaborative Housing website condenses ISF’s research into a Plain English resource for anyone interested in collaborative housing, from potential residents to policy makers. Funded by a Liveable Communities Grant from the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, with additional funding support from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, the site includes practical information on setting up a housing collective, case studies of existing initiatives and their residents’ stories, fact sheets and a literature review.
Report
Considering climate change in urban sanitation
Authors: Freya Mills, Jeremy Kohlitz, Naomi Carrard and Juliet Willetts (ISF), with contributions from Antoinette Kome (SNV)
This learning paper is based on research by ISF’s International Development team for partners SNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV). It draws on risk-hazard, resilience and vulnerability perspectives from global environmental change and the in-field experiences of ISF-UTS and SNV. It shows that addressing the problem of climate change in the urban sanitation sector requires actions across multiple domains that are well-beyond the current focus on technical aspects. The paper provides conceptualisation of climate change impacts on urban sanitation, and offers policy and programming principles and actions that could be taken up in response.
Journal article
How scale and technology influence the energy intensity of water recycling systems – An analytical review
Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 215, 1 April 2019, Pages 1457-1480
Authors: Reba Paul, Steven Kenway (UQ), Pierre Mukheibir
Postgraduate researcher Reba Paul and Professor Pierre Mukheibir from ISF co-authored this paper with Associate Professor Steven Kenway of the University of Queensland for the Journal of Cleaner Production. The paper details research into the energy requirements of four different water recycling types/technologies: centralised potable, centralised non-potable, decentralised potable, decentralised non-potable, and concludes that larger decentralised water recycling systems and ‘fit for purpose’ water reuse using appropriate technologies have the potential to reduce the energy intensity for cost-effective urban water services.
Journal article
A systematic review of empirical methods for modelling sectoral carbon emissions in China
Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 2015, 1 April 2019, Pages 1382-1401
Authors: Li Huang, Scott Kelly, Kangjuan Lv, Damien Guirco
Postgraduate researcher Li Huang, Research Director Scott Kelly and Professor Damien Giurco collaborated with Professor Kangjuan Lv of Shanghai University for this paper to conduct a systematic analysis of all the major research methods used to measure China’s carbon emissions. Based on a bibliometric analysis using knowledge mapping with the software CiteSpace, the review identified five common families of methods used as well and the main trends in each family. In addition, the paper provides a direct comparison of all methods. The research results can help scholars quickly identify and compare different methods for addressing specific research questions.
Book
Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals: Global and Regional 100% Renewable Energy Scenarios with Non-energy GHG Pathways for +1.5°C and +2°C
Springer, 2019
Authors: Sven Teske (editor, ISF), Chris Briggs (ISF), Özcan Deniz (DLR), Elsa Dominish (ISF), Kate Dooley (UM), Nick Florin (ISF), Damien Giurco (ISF), Thomas Pregger (DLR), Johannes Pagenkopf (DLR), Benjamin McLellan, Malte Meinshausen (UM), Franziska Mey (ISF), Tom Morris (ISF), Tobias Naegler (DLR), Kriti Nagrath (ISF), Stephan Schmid (DLR), Sonja Simon (DLR), Bent van den Adel (DLR), Takuma Watari
This open access book presents detailed pathways to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement to remain under +1.5C global warming via 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, globally and across 10 geographical regions. The employment effect of the energy transition has been analysed as well as the demand for metal resources required for the manufacturing of solar and wind generators as well as batteries.
Additionally, the book provides a global pathway to reduce other green-house-gas (GHG) emission from land-use-change and chemical substances. Bringing together the latest research in climate science, renewable energy technology, employment and resource impacts, the book breaks new ground by covering all the elements essential to achieving the ambitious climate mitigation targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. Achieving the Paris Climate Goals… was edited by ISF’s Dr Sven Teske and includes contributions from a collection of ISF researchers and scientists and engineers from the German Aero Space Center (DLR) and the University of Melbourne (UM).
Update: As at June 2020, Achieving the Paris Climate Goals… has been downloaded more than 181,000 times.
Creative writing
“The Witness”, Our Entangled Future: Stories to Empower Quantum Social Change
Author: Chris Riedy
ISF’s Professor Chris Riedy's "The Witness" was one of nine winning compositions included in this compendium, part of a research project funded by the University of Oslo and the Research Council of Norway. His piece, “The Witness” tells a plausible story of transformation towards a sustainable future. Neither utopian nor dystopian, it explores the dark and light sides of our entanglement with each other. It is ultimately a hopeful story, where technology supports our connection to and compassion for each other.
