Francesco Bassetti

air-quality

Elly Vaughan: The climate-health nexus between pollen and heatwaves

The interplay between climate change, air quality and lung health is a key issue that requires innovative approaches and solutions. “It’s not just what the empirical evidence is telling us about different particle concentration levels in the air but how people are perceiving air quality,” says health policy expert at Economist Impact Elly Vaughan.

Antonio Navarra

How good is ChatGPT at climate science?

CMCC President Antonio Navarra reflects on our interview with ChatGPT and how good it is at answering questions related to climate science. “ChatGPT doesn’t actually ‘understand’ anything [but] the technology’s potential is enormous and the next versions will be able to do much more than this interview shows.”

AI_chatbots

AI chatbots and the battle for information

From the controversy surrounding scientific papers written by AI powered chatbots and their contributions to carbon emissions, to the greater role of AI in providing climate solutions including accurate and timely information, is AI a force for good or evil when talking about the climate?

soil texture

Unearthing perspectives: the new European soil health law

The wellbeing of our planet also rests on the health of our soil. With over 60% of European soil believed to be in an unhealthy state many see the Union’s soil monitoring, health and resilience proposal as too little too late. Media and experts reactions to the new European Soil Health Law.

green city

The cities of the future

Skyscrapers made of bamboo. Green roofs. Smart glass. Houses that are cool in summer and warm in winter without burning through loads of energy. All around the world, the future of cities and urbanization looks to bring smarter, more energy-efficient, healthier buildings to the urban environment. An unattainable utopia or simply a necessity in a rapidly urbanizing world that needs to find sustainable solutions to the cities of the future?

El Niño is here and its effects will be no child’s play

El Niño has officially arrived and with it sensationalist headlines about temperature thresholds, extreme weather and destruction. “However, it is important to remember that climate change isn’t a strictly linear process and El Niño simply highlights the ups and downs in what is a generally warming trend dictated by climate change,” says CMCC researcher Leone Cavicchia, as he explains what ENSO is, how it impacts local and global weather, and what to expect now that it has arrived.

Brand activism vs greenwashing: the outdoor experience by Luca Albrisi

The beauty, freedom, and adventure of outdoor experiences are often leveraged by outdoor brands in their marketing strategies. But, how does this fit with a clean approach to the outdoors and how active are these brands when it comes to protecting nature. Luca Albrisi, athlete, writer and activist talks about his approach to the outdoors and how to look out for greenwashing and false narratives. 

green premium

Green premium

“It is a challenge to be overcome if we want to reach our climate targets,” say global experts, investors and economists. The green premium concept helps measure progress on green technology deployment and, at the same time, establish what the next steps should be for a rapid low-carbon transition. A review of sources, definitions and data to understand a key factor in the climate transition. 

Moving mining back to Europe

EU clean energy targets will need 35 times more lithium and seven to 26 times the amount of rare earth metals in 2050 compared with today. Critical raw materials are a key ingredient in any green transition, but now the question is: can mining go hand in hand with nature protection laws?

What is environmental intelligence?

It can leverage new technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning to greatly improve the selection, processing and use of the vast amounts of climate data we currently have. The result? More informed and effective decision making from the local to the global level. Scientists, startuppers and representatives of EU institutions dialogue on funding opportunities, innovation and applications.