Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
The Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) is a new Italian research centre dedicated to climate and climate related research, including climate variability, its causes and consequences, carried out through numerical models ranging from Global Earth System to Regional models within the Euro-Mediterranean area.
History
The centre has been established with initial funding by the Italian Ministries for: Economy and Finance; Environment, Land and Sea; University and Research, within the Strategic Programme “Sustainable development and climate change” of the 2001 Special Integrative Fund for Research (FISR), aimed at funding specific activities with exclusive strategic relevance, pursuant to the 2001–2003 (also extended to 2005–2007) National Research Programme (PNR). As such, the CMCC fulfils the “creation of an international level centre for research on climate change” with focus on the: “development and in-depth examination of knowledge on climate variability: study of causes and consequences through high resolution simulations”.
The CMCC started its operations in mid-2005.
The official opening of CMCC facilities has been put off at the beginning of 2009, coinciding with the “Climate Science in the Mediterranean area” event, which took place in Lecce, on 31 January 2009.
Organization
The CMCC is a Ltd Company (CMCC S.c.a.r.l.) with its headquarters based in Lecce and local units in Bologna, Venice, Capua, Sassari and Milan, to exploit the existing expertise of its partners. The CMCC is operated by a Research Consortium consisting of different Italian public and private research Institutions, led by the “Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia” (INGV). The legal address of CMCC is:
(CMCC) Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici – S.c.a.r.l. Via Augusto Imperatore, 16 – I-73100 Lecce (LE), Italy.
The Director of CMCC is Dr. Antonio Navarra.
Partners and associated centres
Partners
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
- Università degli Studi del Salento
- Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA)
- Consorzio Venezia Ricerche (CVR)
- Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)
- Università degli Studi del Sannio
Associated centres
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) – Dipartimento Ambiente
- Università della Tuscia
- Istituto Agronomico Mediterraneo di Bari
- Centro di Ricerca in Matematica Pura e Applicata – CRMPA
- Università degli Studi di Sassari
Mission
The mission of the CMCC is "to improve our understanding of the nature and mechanisms of climate variability, its causes and its impacts, with a special emphasis on the Mediterranean area" and its interactions with the global climate. Through the capabilities of its members and associate centres, the CMCC delivers scientific-technical products and technical support to Ministries, Regions and Provinces and the private sector in fields such as:
- climate change assessments;
- the protection of the marine environment of the Mediterranean Sea towards a sustainable use of the resources;
- ecology, forestry science, health and economy;
- risk management (natural hazards related to climate, oil spills, coastal euthrophication, water resources, etc.);
- transportation, agriculture, energy and tourism.
Furthermore, through satellite remote sensing, the CMCC also aims to carry out:
- the monitoring of the eco-environmental resources (water, agriculture, forestry);
- the analysis and prevention of the risks due to natural and anthropogenic hazards;
- the monitoring of the energy and transportation networks.
International cooperation is an essential activity of the CMCC, which financially supports several international projects, and participate to European projects and works within bilateral agreements between Italy and other Countries. Other than operating research coordination/management of international projects led by Italian Ministries, the CMCC also provides scientific support for several multilateral international activities, including IPCC, UNCCD, UNEP and UNFCCC.
In 2008–2009, CMCC also supports the Italian G8 Presidency with scientific and technical advice, including for the organization and management of three workshops on climate change related issues. The centre also contributes to knowledge dissemination through specific events (seminars, conferences, congresses or workshops) and educational activities, with the preparation, funding and management of training programs (on a post-doctoral level), such as PhD Schools and Summer and Winter schools.
Research units
The activities of the CMCC are carried out by and clustered into six different topical Research units:
- ANS Numerical Applications and Scenarios
- CIP Climate Impacts and Policies. An Economic Assessment.
- FDD Education, Documentation and Dissemination
- IAFENT Impacts on Agriculture, Forest, and Natural Ecosystems
- ISC Impact on Soil and Coast
- SCO Scientific Computing and Operations
Furthermore, CMCC also hosts the working group of the IPCC National Focal Point for Italy.