CMCC Symposium
1-2 October 2026 | Lecce
Science discovery is entering a new era. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data-intensive technologies are transforming how knowledge is generated, processed, analysed, and translated into action. Scientific progress no longer follows a steady evolutionary path but unfolds through leaps and bounds, with climate science at the forefront of this transformation.
To mark the first 20 years of pioneering research at the interface between science and policy, CMCC hosts the conference “The acceleration of the scientific revolutions. The case of climate sciences”, an opportunity to analyse and reflect on the cutting-edge issues that will shape the scientific agenda in the coming decades.
Through keynote lectures and thematic discussions, the conference will bring together international scientists, policymakers, and experts in Lecce on 1-2 October 2026 for a high-level discussion on how science is responding to this disruptive moment. Positioning climate science as both a driver and a testbed for accelerated knowledge production, it will explore the implications for governance, policy, and society in the Anthropocene.
Speakers
Lamin Ann – University of Tuscia; Rossella Arcucci – Imperial College London; Valentina Bosetti – Università Bocconi, CMCC Foundation; Annalisa Bracco – CMCC Foundation; Carlo Carraro – CMCC Foundation; Hellas Cena – University of Pavia; Emanuela Clementi – CMCC Foundation; Chiara Ciscato – CMCC Foundation; Giovanni Coppini – CMCC Foundation; Peter Dueben – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF); Italo Epicoco – CMCC Foundation; Ivan Federico – CMCC Foundation; Pierre Friedlingstein – University of Exeter; Marco Gambarini – CMCC Foundation; Paula Harrison – UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH); Costas Kadis – EU Commissioner Fisheries and Oceans; Simona Masina – CMCC Foundation; Ronan McAdam – CMCC Foundation; Giulia Mengoli – CMCC Foundation; Paola Mercogliano – CMCC Foundation; Simone Mereu – CMCC Foundation, CINECA; Avram Miller – Intel Capital, Elevo, IIT Fellow; Jaroslav Mysiak – CMCC Foundation; Antonio Navarra – CMCC Foundation; Daniele Peano – CMCC Foundation, CINECA; Nadia Pinardi – CMCC Foundation; Early Regan – University of Exeter; Andrea Rinaldo – University of Padova; Monia Santini – CMCC Foundation; Gabriella Scipione – CMCC Foundation, CINECA; Soheil Shayegh – CMCC Foundation; Alessandra Sgobbi – EU Commission, DG CLIMA; Joanna Staneva – Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon; Donatella Spano – CMCC Foundation; Livio Stracca – European Central Bank; Massimo Tavoni – CMCC Foundation; Joe Tribbia – National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); Laurence Tubiana – European Climate Foundation; Riccardo Valentini – CMCC Foundation; Hans von Storch – University of Hamburg.
Background and rationale
Science is undergoing a phase of profound disruption. Across disciplines, long-established, incremental models of knowledge production are being replaced by nonlinear, accelerated modes of discovery, driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data-intensive technologies. Scientific progress no longer follows a steady evolutionary path but unfolds through leaps and bounds, enabled by new ways of processing, analysing, and exploiting vast, heterogeneous datasets.
Climate science exemplifies this moment of “shock”. Faced with the urgency and complexity of global environmental change, the field has become a laboratory for new research paradigms integrating Earth observation systems, advanced numerical models, digital infrastructures, and AI-based methods. Knowledge increasingly emerges from continuous feedback between data, models, and decision-making processes, reshaping how scientific evidence is produced, validated, and applied.
This rapid technological transformation represents a break with the past. The pervasive diffusion of AI and ML across scientific practice—and society more broadly—calls on researchers to adapt swiftly by rethinking methodologies, epistemological assumptions, and institutional cultures. Navigating these technological revolutions requires openness to interdisciplinarity, new forms of collaboration, and adaptive research approaches that can keep pace with accelerating change.
The CMCC is celebrating the first 20 years of its pioneering research at the interface between science and policy with a symposium that offers an opportunity to analyse and reflect on some cutting-edge issues that will define the main challenges facing the scientific community in the coming decades.
Bringing together international scientists, policymakers, and experts, the conference “The Acceleration of the Scientific Revolutions. The case of Climate Sciences” provides a high-level forum for reflecting on how science is responding to this disruptive moment. The symposium positions climate science as both a driver and a testbed for accelerated knowledge production, while examining the implications for governance, policy, and society in the Anthropocene.
Thematic sessions
The event is structured around thematic sessions on frontier aspects of climate research, featuring contributions from keynote speakers, presentations on specific aspects of the current state of scientific knowledge, perspectives on the near future in light of methodological and technological advancements available to the global scientific community, and innovations in policy and in interactions between the climate system and socio-economic systems.
The thematic sessions are designed to provide an in-depth examination of the challenges that will characterise the coming decades of climate research, with particular attention to a multidisciplinary, integrated approach that highlights emerging data, technological innovations, advances in understanding the climate system, policy options, and climate solutions.
The identified themes are:
Session 1
When Science meets Policy and Business
Session 2
The Climate–Biodiversity Nexus: Governing Within Planetary Boundaries
Session 3
Climate Science for a Changing World
Session 4
Data-driven predictions
Session 5
Digital Twins for Climate Resilience: Integrated Solutions from Terrestrial to Ocean Systems
Session 6
Carbon neutrality