More than one hundred scientists, experts and delegates of European and Italian institutions. The program of the Annual Conference of the Italian Society for Climate Sciences is very rich: the event will begin with an opening speech of the European Commission focused on future perspectives for research and innovation and will end with a round table in the presence of Minister Gianluca Galletti focused on the National Adaption Plan to climate change and the collaboration among different levels of governance, with the participation of distinguished and renowned personalities from the international scientific community, the regional governments and other key institutions and experts in the field of climate change and environmental and socio-economic services solutions.

“Climate Action in support of the Paris Agreement” is the title of the SISC – Italian Society for Climate Sciences Fifth Annual Conference that will take place on October 26-27, 2017, at Conference Center of CNR Bologna Research Area, Italy (www.sisclima.it/conferenza2017). As every year, the event gathers together the Italian scientific community and stakeholders whose activities are focused on climate change while aiming at fostering and improving the dialogue, the exchange of ideas, experiences and practices among researchers, policy makers and businesses.

The SISC Fifth Annual Conference is therefore an important interdisciplinary platform for the presentation of the most advanced research results in the field of science and management of climate change. An opportunity for a debate and an exchange of views in a historic period in which, as highlighted by the Chairs of the Scientific Committee of the Conference Carlo Barbante (SISC President, IDPA-CNR Director) and Cristina Sabbioni (ISAC – CNR Director), the investments and climate policies at the global level are starting to provide the first benefits and concrete applications. “The path towards a low-carbon economy is still a long, difficult and demanding way to cover but – as highlighted by Barbante and Sabbioni – the path we have started can’t be stopped. The next three years will be extremely important and as representatives of the scientific community we have the responsibility to lead this transition while supporting decision and policy makers in the public sector and all the people involved in environmental issues at all levels: local, regional, national and global”.

The Program of the Conference is particularly rich this year: the event will start with the welcome message of the organizing partners and the welcome message of Patrizio Bianchi (Assessore a coordinamento delle politiche europee, allo sviluppo, scuola, formazione professionale, università, ricerca e lavoro della Regione Emilia Romagna) and has been structured in Plenary Lectures with relavant keynote speakers, such as Roberto Buizza, Lead Scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the European centre of forecasts whose supercomputer will be based in Bologna. Andrea Tilche, Directorate General for Research and Innovation, European Commission, will talk about future perspectives of the European Research Programmes on Climate Change, while Angelo Riccaboni, University of Siena will illustrate the main challenges of PRIMA, Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, a joint research and innovation program among 19 Euro-Med countries on water and agri-food systems in the Mediterranean basin. Parallel and posters sessions will be the opportunity to make the point on the current state and advances of climate research with a special focus on the different interdisciplinary issues of climate sciences. Moreover, a side event is dedicated to Nextdata, a national system for the retrieval, storage, access and diffusion of environmental and climate data from mountain and marine areas.

The conference will end with a round table entitled “Le politiche di adattamento e il modello di governance – Un continuo dialogo tra il livello Nazionale, Regionale e Locale”, with the participation of Gianluca Galletti, Italian Minister for the Environment, Land and Sea (on Friday October 27, 2017, at 4:00 p.m.). The round table aims at presenting and discussing the role of the National Adaptation Plan as well as the regional and local plans in the implementation of climate change adaptation measures and policies  with the involvement of different actors. Moreover, the event will be the occasion to highlight the need of a new governance approach to encourage climate change adaptation by coordination activities among the different levels of policy.

The round table is coordinated by Donatella Spano (Coordinatore Commissione Ambiente ed Energia della Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome, Assessore Regionale della Difesa dell’Ambiente della Regione Sardegna).
Participants: Carlo Cacciamani, Coordinatore del Centro funzionale centrale per il rischio meteo- idrogeologico della Protezione Civile; Paola Gazzolo, Assessore alla difesa del suolo e della costa, protezione civile e politiche ambientali e della montagna della Regione Emilia Romagna; Filippo Caracciolo, Assessore Qualità dell’ambiente – Ciclo rifiuti e bonifiche, Rischio industriale, Ecologia, Vigilanza ambientale della Regione Puglia; Fabrizio Piccarolo, Direttore Fondazione Lombardia per l’Ambiente; Marco Dus, Membro della Commissione Ambiente, cambiamenti climatici ed energia 
del Comitato Europeo delle Regioni; Antonio Navarra, Presidente della Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC); Stefano La Porta, Presidente Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA); Gianfranco Bologna, Direttore scientifico WWF Italia; Angelica Monaco, Direttore Climate-KIC Italy; Edoardo Zanchini, Vice presidente Nazionale di Legambiente.

Website: http://sisclima.it/conferenza2017
WHAT: “Climate Action in support of the Paris Agreement” – Annual Conference of the Italian Society for Climate Sciences
WHERE: Conference Center, CNR Bologna Research Area – Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna
WHEN: October 26-27, 2017

The event is organized by the CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, the National Research Council – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) and Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes (IDPA).

Sponsors: Lenovo, Intel
With the support of: Regione Emilia Romagna, Regione Autonoma della Sardegna