Climate Plan 2040
As part of the sustainability strategy of the autonomous province of Bolzano “Everyday for Future – Together for sustainability”, the “South Tyrol Climate Plan 2040” pursues the ambitious goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2040 through measures implemented in a series of fields of action.
Research Projects in the framework of the Climate Plan 2040
The research field pursues the involvement and cooperation of local research institutions in contributing with scientific answers to the challenges that climate change poses. To this aim, the Province launched a call at the end of 2024 for the financing of scientific research projects on topics closely linked to the objectives contained in the Climate Plan. The projects have a two-years duration.
The winning projects are listed below:
| Acronym | Title | Lead partner & PI | Partner Institutions | Objectives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DiCAM | A Cutting-Edge Data Infrastructure for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation | Unibz Dignös Anton | Eurac Eco Research | – Build a digital platform to integrate and share climate data for South Tyrol, aligned with FAIR/TRUST principles*. – Enable effective, data-driven climate action planning and evaluation. – Support South Tyrol’s climate neutrality target by providing reliable data for informed decision-making. |
| NextWater_ST | A Nexus perspective for adapting water management in South Tyrol to future changes | Eurac Stefano Terzi | Unibz Laimburg | – Evaluate future water availability in South Tyrol by modelling mountain hydrology and multisectoral demands. – Apply a WEFE nexus approach** to integrate future water needs of hydropower, agriculture, and ecosystems. – Support sustainable water management by identifying and testing synergies and trade-offs across sectors. |
| ClimOO | Climate, Plastics and Sustainability: Ontology and Operationalisation | STA PTH Ludger Jansen | Eco Research Laimburg Fraunhofer Italia | – Assess microplastic pollution and its climate impacts in South Tyrolean agriculture through surveys and soil tests. – Review and analyze existing standards and operationalisations of climate and plastic impacts in South Tyrolian agriculture. – Combine scientific and philosophical methods to develop a semantic framework that integrates diverse data into a unified, machine-readable ontology. |
| CoolST | Adapting to Climate Change Impact: Crafting South Tyrol’s Cooling Future for Energy Resilience | Eurac Simon Pezzuto | Unibz Fraunhofer Italia Laimburg | – Assess the cooling market in South Tyrol, quantifying cooling units and energy consumption across sectors, with projections for future energy needs (2040). – Create an open-source Knowledge Hub and a tool collecting data on the cooling market, with a particular focus on the residential sector. – Conduct market analysis and simulations to evaluate and address future cooling needs in South Tyrol. |
* FAIR ensures data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.
TRUST ensures data repositories are Transparent, Responsible, User-focused, Sustainable, and Technically sound
**Approach considering the complex interconnections between Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystems to support sustainable and balanced resource management