Building a climate-resilient society: Insights from ERCIM’s special themed issue

The European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) has dedicated a special theme to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: building a climate-resilient society. In collaboration with the EU-funded project MAIA, this special theme published on 26th October 2023 seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, research, and innovative solutions to address the multifaceted impacts of climate change.

A collaborative effort for climate resilience

The special theme, guided by guest editors Athina Lykos from the Austrian Institute of Technology (a MAIA project consortium member) and Sobah Abbas Peterson from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, underscores the urgency of addressing climate change. With the impacts of climate change ranging from extreme weather events to biodiversity loss and health risks, the need for coordinated action is clear. The special theme offers a comprehensive exploration of how synergies can be created across different sectors and regions to enhance climate resilience.

The role of the MAIA project in facilitating knowledge sharing

At the heart of this initiative is the MAIA project, which aims to maximise the impact of climate change research and innovation. With a consortium of 15 partners across Europe, MAIA plays a crucial role in bringing together scattered knowledge from various sources, including EU-funded projects, academic publications, and best practices from private stakeholders.

One of the key challenges identified by MAIA is the fragmentation of climate-related knowledge, which often remains siloed and inaccessible to those who need it most. The project is working to create a unified knowledge management platform that will allow stakeholders—ranging from policymakers to scientists and citizens—to easily access and apply the latest research and best practices in climate adaptation and mitigation.

With this in mind, MAIA consortium members were pleased to curate this special issue. 

Themes and innovations highlighted in ERCIM News

This special theme in ERCIM News is divided into four key subthemes, each focusing on a critical aspect of climate resilience:

1. Crisis and Disaster Management: Highlighting innovative projects like gAia, which supports landslide disaster risk reduction through data-driven methods, and TREEADS, a holistic fire management ecosystem, this subtheme addresses how technology and data can be harnessed to improve disaster preparedness and response.
   
2. Clean Air: This subtheme features projects such as WECAREMED and COMPAIR, which focus on improving air quality through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and engaging citizens in climate action. These initiatives demonstrate the importance of community involvement and social innovation in tackling environmental challenges.
   
3. Energy: Focusing on sustainable energy solutions, this subtheme showcases projects like LoCeL-H2, which develops hydrogen solutions in African pilot sites, and Green-Cap, which uses IoT frameworks for energy self-consumption. These projects illustrate the potential of innovative technologies to contribute to a more resilient energy system.
   
4. Transferable Mitigation Pathways: The final subtheme explores how collaborative data platforms and citizen engagement can enhance climate resilience. For example, the KNOWING project creates a modelling framework to assess the interactions between adaptation and mitigation measures. At the same time, CITYCLIM uses citizen science to gather local data and improve climate-related decision-making.

Check out the full issue and download it here.

Towards a unified approach to climate resilience

The ERCIM special theme on Climate-Resilient Society is a call to action for all stakeholders involved in the fight against climate change. By bringing together cutting-edge research, practical solutions, and diverse perspectives, this initiative aims to create a more unified and effective approach to building climate resilience. Through collaboration and knowledge sharing, the projects and ideas highlighted in this special theme offer a roadmap for regions, communities, and organisations striving to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

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