As climate policies evolve, so too must their approach to equity: a just and equal transition is “probably the only one that’s feasible”, explains Matthias Weitzel, researcher at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Navigating the complexities of EU climate policies, such as the balance between regulatory standards and carbon pricing, is crucial to ensure fairness and equity across society.
Science clearly points to the electrification of road transportation as a priority to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century. Particularly in Italy, the European country with the highest motorization rate. Three reports, with the contribution of experts from CMCC, illustrate where we stand and why electric mobility in Italy is preferable to other technological solutions.
Technological, economic, and environmental risks are on the rise, but it is precisely in these areas that the opportunities for building a better future lie. In an increasingly fragmented world, awareness of the need to act on climate risks is growing whilst priority for action is directed elsewhere. CMCC Principal Scientist Francesco Bosello comments on the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024.
The Marshall Islands, a nation of low-lying atolls threatened by rising sea levels, is facing an existential crisis. Yet, amidst this adversity, the Marshallese people are not only adapting to climate change but also charting a path for survival. Drawing inspiration from their rich maritime heritage, the Marshall Islands have developed a groundbreaking National Adaptation Plan for Survival (NAP). This plan, unveiled at COP28, outlines a comprehensive strategy for addressing the climate crisis over the next century.
Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) play a pivotal role in shaping climate research and policy. “The main progress lies in democratizing modeling capabilities across different countries, ensuring more pertinent and accurate policy insights,” says Roberto Schaeffer. The need for a shift towards national-level modeling of climate impacts, the complexity of balancing immediate costs with long-term benefits at the policy level, and the representation gap between countries, are at the core of the current discussion around climate modeling.
The origins, future and feasibility of net zero. “Net-zero is a powerful idea but it has to be understood as a systemic concept, related to the fact that temperatures will stop increasing once global CO2 emissions reach zero,” says Massimo Tavoni, director of the CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment.
The importance of a Just Transition is being recognised by governments worldwide, increasingly featuring in short and long-term climate plans. How are climate and social sciences tackling the issue?
“CMCC’s strategy aligns with the state of science and society today”. CMCC Scientific Director Giulio Boccaletti comments on the outcome of COP28 in Dubai, where our scientists were engaged in many topics, ranging from adaptation to loss & damage, land use and the science-policy interface. The growing need for integrated scientific knowledge, the intertwining of the climate and socio-economic systems, the ever-closer integration of adaptation and mitigation, and the opportunities arising from machine learning and available data: the points that emerge from COP28 are at the heart of the CMCC strategy.
The loss and damage fund has been established, and initial pledges have been made, but how much money should be directed into it and how should it be organized? Massimo Tavoni, director of the CMCC-RFF European Institute on Economics and the Environment, explains how climate-economic science and modeling can support the loss and damage debate. The latest evidence indicates that an adequate fund should be in the order of [140-822] USD billion and that it should differ from existing funding arrangements used for mitigation and adaptation.
With the agreement reached on the first day of the COP28 UN Summit on the loss and damage fund, decisions were adopted about the beneficiaries, the donors, and how the fund will be structured and governed. The CMCC and IIASA researcher Elisa Calliari, member of the Italian Delegation to the UNFCCC, sheds light on one of the hot topics of COP28 and points out the issues that still have to be defined in the negotiations around ‘loss and damage’.
Positioned as a pivotal theme at COP28, adaptation efforts should aim for a shared and common framework to fortify resilience and reduce vulnerabilities at different scales. Adaptation is crucial in the context of the Global Stocktake, intended to inform Parties to the Paris Agreement on their progress against its goals, including limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. National Adaptation Plans also take center stage in current climate discussions, marking the launchpad for states to decipher local and national vulnerabilities and risks, plan effective adaptation actions, and secure funding. CMCC scientist Marta Ellena shares insights illuminating COP28’s ambition for a sustainable and resilient future.
Health impacts are among the most tangible effects of climate change: they affect billions worldwide, and they are more acutely felt by the most vulnerable parts of the population. Environmental economist at CMCC and member of the Burkina Faso delegation at COP28, Shouro Dasgupta underscores the imperative of integrating health concerns into climate policies to reduce both health impacts – especially on the most vulnerable populations – and unintended consequences of climate action.
