Research projects

Research

PRUDENT: Promoting Green Nudging for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry

PRUDENT aspires to revolutionize agriculture and forestry by promoting sustainable practices and innovative farming technologies. The project will explore the use of “nudges”, small changes in how farmers and foresters make decisions, to encourage them to adopt more sustainable approaches. These nudges will be tested in real-life situations alongside policy changes to see their combined effect on sustainability. Innovative tools, like web or mobile apps, will be developed to help farmers and foresters regulate their actions and make lasting changes, supporting these behaviour changes. Different types of farming and forestry systems across Europe will be studied to understand their unique challenges. The insights gained from this research will create new ways of thinking about agriculture and forestry, including social innovations, business models, and policy recommendations. 

RENOVATE: Ecosystem Approach to the Evaluation and Testing of Compensation and Mitigation Actions in the Marine Environment: The Case of the Civitavecchia Port Hub

RENOVATE is an innovative experimental project whose main objective is the recovery of marine ecosystem functions and services impacted by the expansion of the Civitavecchia Port Hub. This includes the testing of restoration and mitigation interventions for the priority habitat 1120* and some biocoenoses of habitat 1170, as well as for two species of high natural and ecological importance: Corallium rubrum and Pinna nobilis. RENOVATE is the most ambitious ‘marine habitat restoration’ project carried out in Italy and probably in Europe. It envisions a series of interventions based on an innovative, holistic approach aimed at achieving the medium/long-term recovery goals of the functionality of impacted habitats and species, equivalent to what was lost due to the expansion of the Port Hub. RENOVATE is a project that will represent the state of the art in terms of scientific and technological innovation, and therefore places a central focus on the application of the most modern scientific criteria used internationally, with particular reference to the ecosystem approach and Nature-Based Solutions.

RescueME – Equitable RESilience solutions to strengthen the link between CUltural landscapEs and coMmunitiEs

RescueME is a project funded by the European Commission. RescueME will develop, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of an Actionable Framework based on the Resilient Historical Landscape approach (RHL) complemented by data, models, methods, and tools able to assess risks and opportunities, co-develop inclusive and just resilience strategies and innovative solutions to protect European cultural heritage and cultural landscapes from climate change, disaster risk, as well as other stressors (such as pollution and over-tourism) with special focus on European coastal landscapes.

RethinkAction – CRoss-sEcToral planning enHanced by a decisIoN-maKing platform to foster climate Action

RethinkAction focuses on supporting the objectives of the EU Green Deal translating its action plan in relevant and practical actions and solutions related to land use, as opportunities able not only to support climate neutrality and adaptation, sustainable use of the land resources, and biodiversity restoration, but also actions for social improvement, fostering equality and just transition for all designing the road map to green recovery after COVID.

SASIP: The Scale-Aware Sea Ice Project


An international collaborative project to better understand the impact of amplified warming in polar regions, through the development of a new sea ice modelling paradigm. Through SASIP, the Scale-Aware Sea Ice Project, we propose to develop a truly innovative, scale-aware continuum sea ice model for climate research; one that faithfully represents sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics and that is physically sound, data-adaptive, highly parallelized and computationally efficient. SASIP will exploit large datasets from both granular process models and remote sensing to constrain sea ice properties and optimize continuum model parameters, jointly using data assimilation and machine learning methods. Coupling this multi-scale modeling framework to an ocean mixed-layer model, we will open up a new regime for polar oceanography via an examination of currently unresolved or poorly understood ice–ocean interactions across physical scales. In this systematic merger of models, observations, and numerical techniques, SASIP will reform sea ice modeling, a crucial leap needed to improve regional and larger-scale predictions of polar climate. Through the further development of neXtSIM and the MEB rheological framework, SASIP will build a data-constrained model that is rigorously based on sea ice solid-like physics. This model will allow improved high resolution and large- scale predictions of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, and the propagation of sea ice related climate feedbacks. Employing hybrid data assimilation and machine learning approaches as a native part of the model architecture will allow for objective combinations of model and data. Ultimately, SASIP will lead to reduced uncertainties related to the impact of

SCALA-MEDI – Improving sustainability and quality of Sheep and Chicken production by leveraging the Adaptation potential of LocAl breeds in the MEDIterranean area

The SCALA-MEDI project will optimise the sustainable use and conservation of local genetic resources from the Mediterranean region, focusing on adaptation to climatic conditions and consumer preferences. The expertise and data from previous EU projects will be extended to the genetic and epigenetic characterisation of local resources and their adaptation to different production environments in three North African countries, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Tools and strategies will be developed to improve local breeds for sustainable production. Application of these tools will be demonstrated to farmers in diverse Mediterranean production systems.

SD-WISHEES | Supporting and Developing WIdening Strategies to tackle Hydroclimatic Extreme Events: impacts and Sustainable solutions for cultural heritage

SD-WISHEES actively promotes and supports the collaboration between JPI Climate, Water JPI and national research and innovation funding members to address together the protection of cultural heritage in Europe and beyond. With this purpose, both JPIs will support the implementation of multi-annual joint activities with partners from associated and widening countries and international parties to better understand hydroclimatic extreme events and identify the best available coping solutions.

SD4SP: Stratospheric Dynamics for Seasonal Prediction

Seasonal forecasting is a field with enormous potential influence in different socio-economic sectors, such as water resources, agriculture, health, and energy. Yet, surface climate conditions in Europe still represent a hurdle to formulate skillful seasonal predictions. 

SDGs-EYES – Sustainable Development Goals – Enhanced monitoring through the family of copErnicus Services

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a data driven agenda, and the use of Earth Observation (EO) can make the SDG indicators’ monitoring and reporting technically and financially viable, and comparable across countries.  SDGs-EYES aims to boost the European capacity for monitoring the SDGs based on Copernicus, building a portfolio of decision-making tools to monitor those SDG indicators related to the environment from an inter-sectoral perspective, aligning with the EU Green Deal priorities and challenges. SDGs-EYES will establish an integrated scientific, technological and user engagement framework overcoming the knowledge and technical barriers that prevent the exploitation, combination and cross-feeding of data and tools from the Copernicus’s six core Services, its space-based and in-situ components, and other platforms and portals.  SDGs-EYES considers three interconnected SDGs, on climate (SDG13), ocean (SDG14) and land (SDG15), to demonstrate through four Pilots the Copernicus potential for monitoring six indicators making part of the EU and national assessments: GHG emissions, temperature deviation, ocean acidification, marine eutrophication, forest cover change and soil erosion. Although focusing on the biosphere, these indicators are linked to other SDGs on socio-economic and (geo)political factors (e.g., human health, resources security, poverty, conflicts, displacements). Thus, an additional cross-goals indicator and Pilot will focus on vulnerable communities under cumulative climate extreme hazards.  SDGs-EYES seeks to combine the science-informed (top-down) approach with a stakeholder-driven (bottom-up) approach to transfer scientific outcomes into easy-to-understand and easy-to-use actionable information in the context of SDG indicators’ assessment. Decision-making tools delivered by Pilots will be co-designed with users,

SEA-LIMITHS: Sea Level Rise Impacts on Italian Hospitality

SEA-LIMITHS is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship Project. The aim of this project is to investigate the impacts and economic consequences of sea level rise on sandy beaches and beach hospitality losses owing to beach erosion and flooding in Italy.

SILVANUS – Integrated Technological and Information Platform for wildfire Management

SILVANUS envisages to deliver an environmentally sustainable and climate resilient forest management platform through innovative capabilities to prevent and combat against the ignition and spread of forest fires. The platform will cater to the demands of efficient resource utilisation and provide protection against threats of wildfires encountered globally. The project will establish synergies between (i) environmental; (ii) technology and (iii) social science experts for enhancing the ability of regional and national authorities to monitor forest resources, evaluate biodiversity, generate more accurate fire risk indicators and promote safety regulations among citizens through awareness campaigns. The novelty of SILVANUS lies in the development and integration of advanced semantic technologies to systematically formalise the knowledge of forest administration and resource utilisation. Additionally, the platform will integrate a big-data processing framework capable of analysing heterogeneous data sources including earth observation resources, climate models and weather data, continuous on-board computation of multi-spectral video streams. Also, the project integrates a series of sensor and actuator technologies using innovative wireless communication infrastructure through the coordination of aerial vehicles and ground robots. The technological platform will be complemented with the integration of resilience models, and the results of environmental and ecological studies carried out for the assessment of fire risk indicators based on continuous surveys of forest regions. The surveys are designed to take into consideration the expertise and experience of frontline fire fighter organisations who collectively provide support for 47,504×104 sq. meters of forest area within Europe and across international communities. The project innovation will be validated

Skills4EOSC | Skills for the European Open Science Commons: Creating a Training Ecosystem for Open and FAIR Science

Skills4EOSC brings together leading experiences of national, regional, institutional, and thematic Open Science (OS) and Data Competence Centres from 18 European countries with the goal of unifying the current training landscape into a common and trusted pan-European ecosystem, in order to accelerate the upskilling of European researchers and data professionals in the field of FAIR and Open Data, intensive-data science and Scientific Data Management. Competence Centres (CC) are seen as centres of gravity of OS and EOSC activities in their countries. These entities can either be established national initiatives (as is the case of ICDI in Italy) or initiatives under establishment (e.g., Austria, Greece, and the Nordic countries) or organizations which have the leading or mandated contribution to the OS activities nationally. CCs pool the expertise available within research institutions, universities, and thematic and cross-discipline research infrastructures. They offer training and support, empowerment, lifelong learning, professionalization, and resources to a variety of stakeholders, including not only researchers and data stewards, but also funders, decision makers, civil servants, and industry. Thanks to their position at the heart of the above-described multi-stakeholder landscape, the CCs represented by the Skills4EOSC partners play a pivotal role in national plans for Open Science and in the interaction with scientific communities. They also have close access to policy makers and the related funding streams. The Skills4EOSC project will leverage this reference role to establish a pan-European network of CCs on OS and data, coordinating the work done at the national level to upskill professionals in this

SMOOTH – Sustainable Finance for a Smooth Low-Carbon Transition

The threat of climate change calls for a rapid transition to a low-carbon society. Aligning the financial system with climate stability is a crucial prerequisite for achieving decarbonization while preserving economic prosperity and societal welfare. However, we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of how the institutional and behavioural features of financial systems may affect the speed and shape of the low-carbon transition. Additionally, the coevolving socioeconomic, financial and environmental repercussions of such a large-scale societal transformation have not yet been systematically analyzed. The SMOOTH project will lay the foundations of an innovative macro-financial analytical framework to provide essential insights on the links between financial systems and decarbonization dynamics.

SPARCCLE – Socioeconomic Pathways, Adaptation and Resilience to Changing CLimate in Europe

The SPARCCLE is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program, and it is focused on delivering adaptation and mitigation strategies for a just and climate-resilient Europe. The project aims to support policymaking for action on the socioeconomic risks of climate change, establishing new methodological frameworks to link knowledge across disciplines from research communities working on climate impacts and risks in Europe. Bottom-up assessments of multidimensional climate vulnerabilities, risks, damages, and adaptation will be combined with top-down integrated assessment frameworks (IAFs) and leading multi-sectoral macroeconomic models.

Study on the macro-economic impacts of the climate transition

The study comprises three parts: The first part aims at deepening the understanding of the socio-economic impacts of the transition to climate neutral economies. In particular, the study focuses on the implications of potential frictions and challenges in the socio-economic transformation process and on the potential gains and opportunities of the transition to climate neutrality. The second part of the study should quantify the investment needs for adaptation to climate change across all EU Member States. And the third part brings together the work undertaken under the first two parts to make a preliminary assessment of the macro-economic impacts of the combined investment needs on mitigation and adaptation in a 2050 horizon.

SWITCH – Switching European food systems for a just, healthy and sustainable dietary transition through knowledge and innovation

The transition towards sustainable, safe, healthy and inclusive food systems, from farm to fork, has become a key priority for EU policies, in line with the UN goals sustainable development goals (SDGs). The biggest challenge at present is represented by the limited knowledge of influence dietary choices that limits large scale adoption of healthy and sustainable diets. The ambition of the SWITCH project is to accelerate the behavioral shift of European citizens towards more sustainable and healthy patterns, using Research and Innovation (R&I) as a driver to increase knowledge, accessibility and facilitation strategies at all level of the food systems, involving a multi-actor systemic approach and a co-creation strategy to delineate solutions fair to consumers that support virtuous behavior throughout the whole food chain. For a successful large scale adoption of healthy dietary behavior, all the actors of the food systems need to be engaged, connected and valorized.

The HuT – The Human-Tech Nexus. Building a Safe Haven to cope with Climate Extremes

The HuT will employ innovative disaster risk reduction solutions, accounting for the potential variations induced by climate change. This will involve integrating and leveraging best practices and successful multi-disciplinary experiences that have been recently developed within various territorial contexts by leading European research groups, institutions, and stakeholders, to deal with extreme climate events. The project’s main ambition beyond the state of the art is to promote the “best set” of trans-disciplinary risk management tools and approaches that could be adopted and used extensively across Europe, in as many situations as possible. 

TRANSCEND – Transformational and Robust AdaptatioN to water Scarcity and ClimatE chaNge under Deep uncertainty

TRANSCEND is a project funded by HORIZON Innovation Actions whose main area of research is the identification of Transformational Adaptation Policies (TAP) to water scarcity. TAP will be implemented in 7 labs: Júcar River Basin (RB) (Spain); Reno RB (Italy); Tympaki RB (Greece); Nitra RB (Slovakia); Caplina-Mauri-Desaguadero RB (Peru, Chile & Bolivia); Orontes RB (Lebanon, Syria & Turkey); and Mahanadi RB (Indian states of Chhattisgarh & Odisha). TRANSCEND will leverage this diverse set of demonstrators to initiate adoption of the ecosystem of innovation in 8+ inspiration labs, train 160+ transformation agents, and mainstream uncertainty analysis in key national and European Green Deal strategies. This will provide the knowledge and tools to catalyze robust and systemic transformations to water scarcity and climate change globally, with a clear impact pathway towards TAP adoption in 100+ basins by 2030.

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