This video gives you a brief overview of the module. For the full roadmap, see Curriculum → Roadmap
Overview:
This module takes approximately 35 minutes to complete, including the roadmap and quizzes. The module reflects on the emerging frontiers in climate change research aimed at addressing future challenges, ranging from leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to rethinking socio-economic systems to prioritise equity and sustainability. These developments are crucial for navigating a rapidly changing world and fostering resilience for future generations. The module begins with the challenges and opportunities that AI and ML bring to climate change research. It then introduces DestinE, the Digital Twin of the Earth project by ECMWF. Next, it examines coupled Earth system models and how high-resolution models are becoming increasingly widespread, enabling more localised and detailed climate projections at km scale. Finally, it discusses the impacts of climate change on businesses and the new frontiers of adaptation to socio-economic inequalities and equity, particularly through the creation of fair systems that address the needs of vulnerable populations while promoting sustainable development.
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 1 Lesson
- 30 Minutes
References:
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European Commission (EC). (2023). The next frontier for climate change science – Insights from the authors of the IPCC 6th assessment report on knowledge gaps and priorities for research.https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/18180/1/the%20next%20frontier%20for%20climate%20change%20science-KI0923336ENN.pdf
FAO. 2023. The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2023 – Avoiding and reducing losses through investment in resilience. Rome.
IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.
Latham & Watkins LLP. (2019). Climate Change Litigation: The Growing Threat to Corporations.
Li, J., Li, J., Guo, K., Ji, Q., & Zhang, D. (2024). Policy spillovers from climate actions to energy poverty: international evidence. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1-12.
McKinsey & Company. (2020). How Companies Can Adapt to Climate Change.
Schroeder, D., Chatfield, K., Chennells, R., Partington, H., Kimani, J., Thomson, G., … & Louw, C. (2024). Leaving No One Behind in Research, and the Protection-Inclusion Dilemma for Vulnerable Groups. In Vulnerability Revisited: Leaving No One Behind in Research (pp. 1-23). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Teece, D. J. (2010). Business Models, Business Strategy and Innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 172-194.
UNESCO (2024). Education and climate change: learning to act for people and planet. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54676/GVXA4765
van Daalen, K. R., Romanello, M., Gordon-Strachan, G., Peña, S. M. H., Cai, W., Tonne, C., & Lowe, R. (2023). Challenges in tracking climate, health, and justice over time and large geographical areas. The Lancet Public Health, 8(4), e255.
World Economic Forum. (2020). The Global Risks Report 2020.
Mattera Marina
Marina Mattera is a Multilingual Business Consultant with 10+ years of collective experience in Sustainability and Innovation consultancy, Project Management (including EU and WB projects) and Academia. Accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Education as a University Professor for Public and Private Universities. Possess a comprehensive background in corporate engagement, sustainability and strategic business consulting in EU, US and LATAM frameworks.
Marta Ellena
Marta Ellena holds a PhD in Science and Management of Climate Change. Her work focuses on Climate Change Adaptation, with a particular emphasis on cities and participatory processes. She completed a Master of Research (MRes) in Climate Change Impacts and Management in June 2018 and began working for the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) as a researcher and consultant for international negotiations in January 2019, collaborating with the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE). Her research involves risk analysis concerning various socio-economic systems in contemporary society, with a specific focus on heatwaves and social inequalities in urban contexts. As a consultant for negotiations, her main activities involve research and development on Climate Change Adaptation within the framework of international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and related processes within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Ilenia Manco
Ilenia Manco is a climate scientist with a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics and Oceanography from the University of Bologna, specializing in deep-learning models for climate downscaling. She earned her Master Degree in Climate Science at the University of Naples “Parthenope” in 2021, where her thesis focused on developing and validating an optimized WRF configuration over Italy. Certified by the World Meteorological Organization in Meteorological Training, she has been a junior researcher at CMCC’s Regional Models and Geo-Hydrological Impacts Division since 2021. Her expertise spans statistical and dynamical downscaling, benchmarking AI-driven methods against physics-based models, and applying machine-learning (including deep-learning) techniques to address several climate and weather challenges, such as identifying climate patterns and improving extreme-event forecasts.
Angelo Campanale
Angelo Campanale is a postdoctoral researcher at the CMCC Foundation since March 2022. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Politecnico di Bari in 2017 and earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the same institution in 2021, with a dissertation focused on fluid-structure interaction problems. Since joining CMCC, his research has primarily focused on high-resolution numerical weather and climate modelling. In particular, he works with the Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic Weather and Climate (ICON) model, applying it across various levels of complexity and a wide range of applications, from urban climate modelling to coupled atmosphere–ocean systems.
Mario Raffa
Mario Raffa is a researcher at the CMCC Foundation. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering for Automation and Telecommunications from the University of Sannio in 2014. Since 2022, he has been leading the REgional Models unit, after working as a research assistant from 2015 to 2021. His main work focuses on convective-scale climate simulations, with experience in regional climate models such as COSMO-CLM and ICON-CLM. He has expertise in the development of statistical and numerical algorithms for weather forecasting, the processing of satellite and climate data, the design of operational workflows, and the management of long-term simulations in HPC environments. He is a member of the coordination group of the CLM-Community and serves as deputy coordinator of the SOILVEG working group (soil and vegetation). He is actively involved in the CORDEX initiative. He has contributed to several research projects, including WEC (Climate-KIC), EUCP (H2020), NEXTDATA (FISR), the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S – ECMWF), HIGHLANDER (EC), GLORI4DE .
