[1][2][3] Ürge-Vorsatz was a coordinating lead author of both the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports (AR4 and AR5) of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

[6] She credits her switch in discipline from astrophysics to climate change as coming as an epiphany that occurred during a meeting on an unrelated topic, where she was suddenly struck by a "a strong feeling that she must focus on problems that are happening on Earth.

[9][6] Ürge-Vorsatz has served on the Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change of the United Nations, and led work on the Global Energy Assessment of buildings.

[10][11] Ürge-Vorsatz was a coordinating lead author of both the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports (AR4 and AR5) of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Her efforts have led to policy shifts that prioritise energy-efficient housing retrofits as a dual solution for reducing emissions and improving living conditions.

Reducing and eliminating fuel poverty, and decreasing carbon emissions and the impacts of climate change, are potentially compatible goals.

For example, they argue that income support schemes are at best temporary solutions, with a danger of locking households into continuing use of inefficient energy systems, without addressing underlying problems.

[17][18][19] Co-benefits often account for a significant percentage of the evaluation of benefit from policy interventions (e.g. from 53% for renewable wind farms to 350% for thermal insulation).

[20] Ürge-Vorsatz discusses the difficulties involved in obtaining reliable data and the importance of identifying and using measures that are relevant to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in urban environments.

[23] Diana Ürge-Vorsatz has actively engaged in public discourse on climate change and energy policy, regularly contributing to Hungarian and European newspapers and newsletters.

She is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences, such as COP meetings, and has appeared in global media outlets, including BBC, The New York Times, and EuroNews.