An ambitious new European research infrastructure project, IRISCC, focusing on the risks caused by climate change, was officially launched on 1 April. The project is coordinated by the Natural Resources Institute of Finland (Luke), brings together 80 partners from across Europe and integrates research services from 14 Research Infrastructures (RIs) and e-Infrastructures.
IRISCC, with a budget of almost €15 million, is a 54-month project with a mission to strengthen society's capacity to cope with risks and build resilience to climate change, which is achieved by providing access to interdisciplinary research platforms and data for researchers focusing on climate change risks. According to Janne Rinne, IRISCC coordinator, "understanding the risks caused by climate change and preparing to adapt to them becomes even more critical for our societies in the near future."
Access to a wealth of resources
IRISCC offers access to complementary and interdisciplinary European and national research infrastructures, including observatories, experimental facilities, advanced modelling tools and strong data infrastructures. The National Observatory of Athens is proud to contribute with access for researchers from all over the world to the air pollution monitoring superstation at Thiseio, which due to its uniqueness and extensive time series is an integral part of the IRISCC research infrastructure partnership.
Strengthening research and informed decision-making
IRISCC promotes interdisciplinary research driven by the challenges and multi-hazard risks associated with climate change. This enables informed decision-making, advancing Europe's adaptation and resilience strategies.
Key objectives of IRISCC:
- Support evidence-based policy making for climate change adaptation and risk management.
- Facilitate high quality research on the risks caused by climate change and its components.
- Providing a user-friendly, integrated portfolio of services for research on climate change risks
- Ensure seamless integration between research infrastructures and harmonisation of their access and data policies.
- Promote user engagement and co-creation of services with researchers and other stakeholders.
Investing in the future
IRISCC is committed to open knowledge sharing and broad capacity building. The project offers training programmes to equip the next generation of researchers with the skills needed to use these integrated research services for effective climate change risk research. "Disseminating and utilizing the services and training offered by the project is one of our key activities," said Päivi Haapanala, IRISCC project manager.
It addresses a wide range of stakeholders
IRISCC serves a wide range of users, including the research community, commercial actors, local, national and international risk managers, international and national risk managers, international and regional risk managers, and the international community.