Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CLARA (Climate forecast enabled knowledge services)
Période du rapport: 2018-12-01 au 2020-09-30
CLARA (Climate forecast enabled knowledge services) is a Horizon 2020 innovation action set to develop a set of advanced climate services, while building upon the Copernicus Climate Change Services – seasonal forecasts and sectorial information systems. The project set out to be part of Europe’s efforts to use climate services to better manage natural resources, improve disaster risk management, and to build better resilience. The CLARA project aimed to use seasonal and decadal forecasts and climate projections to demonstrate the benefits and economic value of climate services. The project set out to:
• Facilitate development of new and enhancement of existing climate services by drawing upon the recent seasonal to decadal projections and projections developed under the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S).
• Analyse and demonstrate the economic and social value unleashed by climate forecast enabled climate services and corroborate the ensuing direct and indirect benefits various end users and customers.
• Engage service developers, purveyors and end-users in mutually beneficial collaboration and partnerships for service co-design, co-development, co-assessment and co-delivery.
• Contribute to advancing the European innovation, competitiveness and market performance for climate services, by designing and implementing innovative exploitation, business and market-oriented activities.
• Economic assessment of flood risk, FLOODMAGE
• Reservoir Operation Assessment Tool. ROAT
• Water supply assessment tool, AQUA
• Parma river basin Water Assessment, PWA
• Water Requirements for Irrigation, WRI
• Climate smart irrigation tool, IRRICLIME
• Smart Climate Hydropower, SCHT
• Small Hydropower Management Tool, SHYMAT
• Solar energy Assessment and Planning tool, SEAP
• Hydro GWh Prediction, HYDRO GWH
• Air pollution and public health, AIRCLOUD
• Air Quality in future Climate, AQCLI
• Post-processed Decadal Climate Predictions, PPDP
• The tailored tool for climate analysis, CLIME
User involvement ensures that scientific knowledge is accessible and actionable, and products are relevant for the decision-making problem. A co-generation approach allows for incorporating users’ needs, facilitates continuous service improvements, reduces the risk of service failure and eventually results in a more positive users’ attitude towards the service. However, engaging and maintaining collaboration among researchers, developers and users might prove to be difficult. A Multi-User Forum (MUF) was established as a vehicle for broad consultation, dialog, external review, and collaboration with a range of users’ organisations and networks with a shared interest in climate (seasonal and decadal) forecast-enabled services. The MUF was established at an early stage of the project's implementation and the recruitment based on an open call for expression of interests.
For each service we analyse the economic and wider social value generated in terms of reduced risks, increased efficiencies and resilience. Local user panels engage additional 30-40 users who participate in co-designing and co-evaluation of the services. Carefully designed value proposition was critically important for demonstrating business viability. Extended marketing intelligence and coaching services provided within the project made it possible to formulate appropriate revenue and financial models and hence ensure viability of the service provision. Furthermore, we analysed the barriers to the uptake and use of climate service, creating good conditions for marketability of CLARA and other climate services.
Beyond the portfolio of operational climate services with clear value proposition and marketing strategy, we contributed to the implementation of the post-2015 multilateral agreements on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction and climate action. We have contributed to the seminal reports of the European Environmental Agency (EEA) on policy coherence across adaptation and disaster risk reduction (see also here) and the Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation of adaptation progress with focus on the role of climate services. We have co-hosted a workshop together with JPI Climate/ERA4CS and the Copernicus Climate Change Service on how the DRR community could be best served by new and emerging CS. The workshop identified challenges and opportunities for delivery of effective operational disaster risk management and communication informed by an understanding of future climate risks. Emphasis on climate services has been elaborated in the revised Peer Review Assessment Framework of disaster risk management capabilities under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. We have produced thematic reports on adaptation to climate change in agricultural sector in North-eastern Italy and the role of climate services and Climate Risk Report in Italy.