Climate-KIC

Climate-KIC: Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community

Completed

Type of Structure:	program
Regional Scope:	continental in the area: Europe
Parent Organisations:	EIT.EU
Child Organisations:
Duration :	2010 to 2014 COMPLETED
Contact Address:	Dr. Reto Largo Director Climate-KIC Swiss Centre ETH Zürich ETH Zentrum 8092 Zürich Phone: +41 (0) 44 633 93 15 URL: http://www.ethz.ch

General information and objectives

Climate-KIC addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation, one of the great challenges that humankind faces today, where KIC stands for 'Knowledge and Innovation Community'. Responding to this challenge will require radical transformation in how we produce, distribute, and consume, in where and how we choose to live and travel, and in how we meet our requirements for energy, food, and water in the context of the environmental values we hold. While we know that we have to transform our society, it is not yet exactly clear how the future society will look like, and how we will get there. Yet, we know that we do not have the luxury to wait. We are optimistic, however, since human society has repeatedly demonstrated ingenuity in response to major challenges. It will do so again. Our aim is to be at the forefront of this next "green" revolution, providing the research, innovation, and education needed to shape Europe's response to climate change. Our vision is "to make a step-change in Europe's innovation capacity to meet the climate change challenge". In order to achieve this vision, five of Europe's leading academic institutions, i.e., ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, IPSL-ParisTech-CEA, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)-TUBerlin-TUMunich-GFZ, and Utrecht-Delft-Wageningen have come together with a regional consortium and ten corporate partners to prepare and submit a bid to form a KIC.

Water, food, and integrated land use Climate change will impact agriculture and ecosystem services on which we all depend. Regional scarcities will exacerbate competing demands for water by agriculture, industry, and energy generation. Flood and drought risks need to be managed. Innovations in this area might include closed loop water systems, new crop varieties, and integrated land use systems coupled with precision technologies that reduce agricultural inputs and greenhouse gas emissions. Urban systems and mobility Developing low-carbon urban solutions presents immense challenges and opportunities. These range from efficient process engineering in homes and vehicles, to the development of radically different paradigms for mobility. Infrastructure and cities will need to be resilient to extreme events to avoid serious societal and economic costs. Low-carbon energy systems and sustainable production Decarbonising energy will require fundamental changes in energy generation and distribution. Carbon capture technologies will be critical. An intelligent electric grid will be required to manage demand and supply. Logistics and supply networks will need to be re-engineered. Ligno-cellulosic bio-refineries will produce new materials, perhaps one of few options for reducing aviation emissions. Technologies and tools Sophisticated modeling techniques will help to understand and design the inter-dependent infrastructures of the future. New earth observation instruments, platforms and models will monitor, anticipate and evaluate climate risks, improve early warning capacities, and underpin global mitigation efforts, including through verifiable emissions trading schemes


Last update: 4/27/22
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)

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