European science tackling climate change: the Equinox Summit Statement
Science informing actions. The crucial role of European science and the importance of strengthening common efforts and shared resources for advancing climate research are at the core of a Statement signed by twelve EU Member States at the JPI Climate & MAGICA jointly organised Equinox Summit.
The Equinox Summit, the first European climate science summit, took place on 21-22 March in Brussels, right after the release of IPCC’s AR6 Synthesis Report.
Co-organized by JPI Climate, the Summit was a major milestone for MAGICA, a EU-funded project coordinated by Giulia Galluccio, Director of the CMCC Foundation’s Information Systems for Climate science and Decision-making (ISCD) Division. It was intended as a key tool to accelerate the transfer from climate knowledge to policy and action with the support of more than 12 European countries.
Representatives of the European scientific community, of Member States’ ministries and EU institutions, gathered to co-design common and effective responses to the threats posed by climate change.
The Summit was designed to recognise and highlight Europe’s excellence and relevance in climate science and innovation, while providing a forum to secure future European leadership in climate science.
During a dedicated high-level session, 12 European Ministries of Research, Climate and Environment, represented by Ministers, State Secretaries and by mandated senior officials, agreed upon and signed a joint Statement.
They expressed their strong support to use the next 12 months to establish a process to determine how to accelerate the transfer of knowledge from science and innovation to climate policy and actions. The signatories of the statement requested JPI Climate to explore further the modalities of such a process towards the 2024 spring Equinox with the aim to reconvene under the Belgian Presidency to launch this new mechanism.
The panel included: Deputy Director General DG Climate Action Clara de la Torre, Brussels-Capital Region State Secretary for Research Barbara Trachte, Belgian Minister for Climate and Environment Zakia Khattabi, Belgian State Secretary for Science Policy Thomas Dermine, Belgian candidate for IPCC Chair Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, and CMCC Foundation President Antonio Navarra, as the representative for Italy.
The statement recognises “that science is fundamental to human development and wellbeing and particularly in understanding of weather, climate, and climate change”. It acknowledges the important scientific achievements in these fields of research, which are crucial to address the alarming impacts of anthropogenic climate change on nature.
“The Equinox Summit Statement is a stepping stone for MAGICA, as it paves the way for the project’s future initiatives in accelerating the transfer from climate knowledge to policy and action” said Giulia Galluccio.
The signatories express their appreciation of “the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, in its global role of assessing scientific understanding of climate change and responses to the challenges it poses”, and for establishing “the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UNFCCC, and subsequent development of global climate policy including the adoption in 2015 of the Paris Agreement and its goals.”
The work and contributions of European scientists are highlighted in the Statement, but noting “that further steps are needed to realise the full potential of the European Research Area (ERA),” including improved sharing of knowledge and practices and enhanced investments in research and observation systems.
The text acknowledges the central role of European programmes such as the Joint Programming Initiatives, the EU Horizon Europe programme and other EU activities such as the Green Deal, highlighting “the urgency and need to accelerate the generation and transfer of knowledge into policy and actions,” through sharing of knowledge and open dialogue between different actors.
The signatories of the Statement declare the common intention to “establish a process to determine how to accelerate the transfer of knowledge from science and innovation to climate policy and actions, taking account of the need to forge a new generation of committed scientists and experts […] and communicators, considering and including the role science plays in informing achievement of climate neutrality, climate resilience and managing social, economic, secure, and just transitions and transformations.”
Given its role within the JPI Climate and the coordination of the MAGICA project, the CMCC Foundation was one of the participants in the Equinox Summit.
MAGICA is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and will take forward what emerged from Equinox Summit proceedings, strengthening the European Research Area for climate science, and intensifying the opportunities for exchange between the world of politics and the world of scientific research.
JPI Climate, the Joint Programming Initiative “Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe,” is an initiative aimed at jointly coordinating European climate research and funding new transnational research activities.
The full text of the Equinox Summit Statement is available here: https://www.magica-project.eu/storage/app/media/MAGICA%20Documents/Equinox-Summit-Statement.pdf
More information:
https://www.cmcc.it/article/science-meets-policy-cmcc-contributes-to-the-equinox-summit