FONDAZIONE CENTRO EURO-MEDITERRANEOSUI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI

Their core work

CMCC is Italy's leading climate research foundation, specializing in climate modelling, impact assessment, and the economics of climate change. They translate complex Earth system models and integrated assessment models into actionable climate services — forecasts, risk assessments, and adaptation pathways that governments and businesses can actually use. Based in Lecce with a strong Euro-Mediterranean focus, they bridge the gap between climate science and decision-making, covering everything from ocean observation systems to energy transition economics and ecosystem service valuation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), CMCC focused heavily on foundational climate science: Earth system modelling, ocean observation networks, and building climate services infrastructure. From 2019 onward, their work shifted noticeably toward societal impact — ecosystem services, nature-based solutions, citizen engagement, finance, and SDG alignment became dominant themes. This evolution reflects a deliberate move from producing climate knowledge to making that knowledge actionable for policy, business, and public engagement.

CMCC is increasingly positioning itself at the interface of climate science, financial risk assessment, and public engagement — expect future work on climate finance, green transition economics, and participatory science.

How they like to work

CMCC operates overwhelmingly as a trusted consortium partner (71 of 79 projects), joining large European research networks rather than leading them. With 954 unique partners across 73 countries, they function as a high-connectivity hub — a go-to institution that many different consortia want on board for climate modelling and assessment expertise. When they do coordinate (6 projects), it tends to be focused, mid-budget efforts where their specific domain leadership justifies the lead role, such as COACCH and CLARA.

An exceptionally well-connected institution with 954 unique consortium partners spanning 73 countries, making them one of the most networked climate research organizations in H2020. Their collaborations span the full Euro-Mediterranean region and extend globally, with strong ties to Atlantic and African research communities through projects like AtlantOS and SEACRIFOG.

What sets them apart

CMCC occupies a rare position as both a hard-science climate modelling centre and an economics-of-climate-change institute — most organizations do one or the other. This dual capability means they can run the Earth system models AND translate the outputs into economic impact assessments, adaptation cost-benefit analyses, and policy-relevant scenarios in a single pipeline. For consortium builders, this eliminates the need to recruit separate partners for modelling and socioeconomic analysis.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EUCP
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.1M) — a flagship European climate prediction system project demonstrating CMCC's central role in continental-scale climate forecasting.
• COACCH
  Coordinated this EUR 990K project on co-designing climate change cost assessments, showcasing their leadership at the intersection of climate science and economic decision-making.
• INNOPATHS
  EUR 947K contribution to mapping innovation pathways for Europe's low-carbon transition — their largest participant-role project, reflecting deep integrated assessment expertise.