How does complex, vital scientific knowledge reach the people who need it? This is a central question following the release of the Second Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change (AAR2) by the Austrian Panel on Climate Change on June 17, 2025. This monumental, 800-page report, compiled by roughly 200 authors from over 5,000 scientific publications, provides the definitive scientific foundation for political and societal decision-making on climate change in Austria.
But a report, no matter how thorough, is only as powerful as its reach. This is where the free knowledge movement comes in.
A Foundation of Openness
Wikimedia Austria partnered with the University of Innsbruck and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) to help bring the freed content to where millions go first to seek knowledge: yours truly, Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Austria and the team at the University of Innsbruck, led by science communicator Melanie Bartos, have a history of collaboration. Through this shared history, Melanie had developed an awareness of the importance of open source content. Thus, she ensured the entire report (including all its data and graphics) would be published under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license. This crucial decision removed copyright barriers, making this critical information freely usable and reusable.
Now volunteer editors can distill key information for a broad audience, while Wikipedia’s interlinking structure allows to connect climate change to topics it’s very much connected to in reality: from nature and transport to urban planning and wealth distribution.
Of course, Wikipedia cannot replace the report’s original depth. Instead, its role is to create an additional access point to one of the most important issues of our time.
The Wikimedian in Residence: The Essential Link
But: The staff of Wikimedia Austria works to support the volunteer community and is not supposed to edit Wikipedia articles. So, to effectively bridge this gap between the academic world of the AAR2 and the collaborative world of Wikipedia, the Wikimedian in Residence (WiR) model is the perfect tool.
A Wikimedian in Residence is an experienced community member embedded within a cultural or educational institution. They act as a translator and bridge-builder, leveraging their expertise in Wikimedia projects to help institutions open up their content and facilitate a smooth, productive collaboration with volunteer editors.
For this project, long-time community member Tobias (User:TheTokl) took on the role of Wikimedian in Residence at the University of Innsbruck. His work was instrumental in transforming the report’s open access into tangible knowledge on Wikipedia. After gaining early access to the report, its 800 pages were systematically analyzed to identify key findings and relevant data. Tobias created a detailed media and topic catalog, which served as a strategic blueprint for creating and updating content across Wikimedia projects.
Image: ⇱, TK (UIBK) | CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: ⇱, TK (UIBK) | CC BY-SA 4.0
Upon the report’s release, the vetted information was immediately being integrated into Wikipedia, ensuring the data reached the public without delay. The Wikimedian in Residence’s role also included documenting the press conference on Wikimedia Commons and coordinating between all partner institutions. By having a dedicated expert embedded within the process, the project ensured that the complex scientific information was translated accurately and effectively, maximizing its impact.
Image: ⇱, TK (UIBK) | CC BY-SA 4.0
Exploring the Results
This project is a successful example of how open access licensing and collaboration between science and the Wikimedia community can ensure vital knowledge to reach beyond its initial limitations. You can explore the results, including new and improved articles and freely licensed images, through the links below.
On Wikipedia:
- Zweiter Österreichischer Sachstandsbericht zum Klimawandel (German)
- Second Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change (English)
- Articles on key contributing scientists like Keywan Riahi, Margreth Keiler, Harald Rieder, and Daniel Huppmann (all in German)
- Articles on involved institutions like CCCA and APCC (German).
- Contextual articles like Klima in Österreich (Climate of Austria) and Folgen der globalen Erwärmung in Österreich (Effects of Global Warming in Austria).
On Wikidata:
- Entries for the Climate Change Centre Austria, the Austrian Panel on Climate Change, and the report itself.
On Wikimedia Commons:
- Categories for portraits of the scientists:
- Images from the AAR2 and the release press conference.
The report makes one thing very clear: Effectively combatting the existential threat of climate change takes a lot more political initiative than is currently being shown in Austria. Bringing attention to this fact is no substitute for tangible action.
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