How to integrate climate change in local and regional planning, increasing local stakeholders’ awareness while guarantee a land and urban management more resilient to climate change and sustainable: the results of the vulnerability study of CMCC and ISIRES research team, in the framework of the European Interreg ALCOTRA-ARTACLIM project.

The study of the research team of CMCC Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (REMHI – Regional Models and Geo-Hydrological Impacts Division) and Istituto Italiano Ricerca e Sviluppo – ISIRES S.r.l., realized in the framework of the European Interreg ALCOTRA-ARTACLIM project, analyzed how current and future climate change effects will influence in the next decades 45 municipalities of the ZOP (Zona Omogenea del Pinerolese) territory, south-west of Turin. The outcome of this research-action activity provides an innovative methodology to assess the vulnerability on climate change and introduce adaptation measures and actions in the planning processes in order to increase the resilience of these territories.

The study analyzed the current and future climate vulnerability of the area for the selected sectors, such as natural risk, settlement systems and tourism. The study highlights a future increase of temperatures (especially for an energy-intensive scenario), but also an increase of heat waves (the number of days with maximum temperature above 35°C) and the so-called “tropical nights” (days in which the minimum temperature never drops below 20°C), in particular on the level ground. In winter, the “cold days” will decrease, especially in the Alpine regions. The trend of precipitation is also not very much reassuring: rainfall will become rare in the long-term but extreme precipitation events will increase. Starting from these observations, the research team realized an analysis to underline the vulnerabilities and impacts on the territory, with the main objective to integrate measures of adaptation to climate change in territorial programming and planning of local administrations.

The vulnerability and risk study has been realized by CMCC and ISIRES experts and provides a list of medium and long-term recommendations to reduce risks, integrate climate change in local and regional planning, increasing local stakeholders’ awareness while guarantee a land and urban management more sustainable and resilient to climate change.

The CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change is involved in the activities of the ARTCLIM project with the research team of REMHI Division; the CMCC Scientific Leader is Paola Mercogliano, REMHI Division Director. The CMCC is in particular involved in the elaboration of a vulnerability study of the ZOP territory on climate change based on extreme climate indicators evaluated starting from high resolution climate models; the sectors of interest are settlement systems and tourism. More information here.

For more information, read also the news in Italian.