Climateurope2 webstival: second edition
This edition revolved around the themes of businesses and communities
Summary
The second Climateurope2 virtual festival revolved around the themes of businesses and communities, with a primary focus on discussing the transformation of Europe through climate services and dedicated solutions. Building upon the success of the first edition held in March 2023, the two-day webinar incorporated various forms of engagement. These included high-level panels, thematic dialogues, as well as other innovative and engaging formats aimed at raising awareness, fostering dialogue, and promoting wider adoption of climate services.
First day
On the first day, the webstival addressed the key challenges faced by regional governments enrolled in the EU Mission Adaptation to climate change. The different sessions organised facilitated discussions on the boundaries of climate services, encouraged the exchange of ideas through thematic break-out groups, and initiated dedicated discussions about the Mission Adaptation to Climate Change and its relevance to regional and local authorities.
- Introduction to Climateurope2
- Cross-cutting topic discussion on Boundaries of climate services: centered on the boundaries of climate services, highlighting their multidisciplinary nature and the importance of considering both climatic and non-climatic data. Collaboration among stakeholders was identified to be crucial. Moreover, standardization was emphasized to ensure effective guidance, quality and accountability.
- Parallel discussion - Climate risk and uncertainty: centered around the question of how information from different knowledge systems can be combined within a climate service and whether that can be achieved in an operational context.
- Parallel discussion - Quality standards: In this discussion, the work on standards and quality criteria developed in the framework of Climateurope2 was presented, followed by a presentation by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and a discussion on how both initiatives could find synergies and collaborate. These presentations laid the groundwork for a discussion on the role of standards in improving climate service quality.
- Parallel discussion - Values enabled by climate services and a taxonomy of business innovation: This discussion focused on assessing the value and benefits of climate services and the business model innovation for climate services and taxonomy development.
- Parallel discussion - Community building: The first part of this parallel session consisted on an introduction to the Art & Science call, aimed at selecting an artist for the creation of a digital artwork that will be presented as part of a Roadshow that will visit several Eastern European countries. During the second part of the session a collaborative platform developed by Climateurope2 was presented, highlighting its 3 main functions: co-creating, exploring and networking.
- In the Adaptation Mission Session: Shaping Climate Services for the Effective Adaptation to Climate Change participants were split in 5 different balanced groups (involving participants with different backgrounds) to discuss on the values enabled by climate services and the role of business innovation. The discussion stressed the need for collaboration, user engagement, and public-private sector cooperation for innovation. Intermediaries were identified as pivotal for enhancing user engagement.
Second day
The second day of the webstival delved into the role of climate services standardisation in finance and renewable energy sectors, aiming to increase the uptake of climate services in these sectors.
- Insights from concurrent projects: advancements in climate innovation: This session served as a platform for existing projects and new initiatives (CLIMAAX , PIISA and VALORADA ) to showcase their substantial progress and their roles in advancing climate services, and to explore synergies and connections. Challenges such as regional disparities and data compatibility issues were recognized.
- Panel - Quality Climate Services for Businesses : This session took the form of a short introduction, preparing the audience for the successive two sessions and preserving their commitment.
- Panel - Standardisation and quality assurance of climate services for the finance sector: An overview of the current EU institutional framework on sustainable finance and existing voluntary climate risk management frameworks were used to set the context for the discussion. Speakers shared case studies and feedback on integrating climate risk analyses into financial and business processes.
- Panel - Standardisation and quality assurance of climate services for the energy sector: This panel discussed the trust and benefits standardization can bring, pinpointed customer needs, key criteria, and distinct business models. It aimed to discern necessary stakeholders for discussing the potential of standards in the renewable energy sector and identify both ongoing initiatives and gaps.
- Closing session: The webstival concluded with a summary of the discussions from the breakout groups and highlighting key takeaways from the sessions.