BC3. Basque centre for climate change – Klima aldaketa ikergai

The areas of research where BC3 is developing research capabilities fall broadly into the following groups:

Adaptation to and the impacts of climate change

• Health and human related: understanding the impacts of climate change in terms of health and how best to adapt to them.
• Agriculture and eco-system related: understanding the impacts of climate change on agriculture and forests and how best to respond to them
• Water related: understanding the implications of climate change for the availability and use of water resources and what changes in water management will be necessary in the future.
• Infrastructure-related: analysis of how climate change requires changes in the design of infrastructure and in the planning of long-term investments.

• physical measures of climate change
• the aim of this area is to improve the quality of forecasts, especially at a more disaggregated level

Measures to mitigate climate change

• Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and measures to sequester carbon: modelling the inter linkages between the economic and climate sub-systems to better understand how the economy will be affected by climate change; measures to control greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change. Design of instruments to reduce greenhouse gases at the regional, national and global levels.
• Policies to promote carbon-free technology: the role of technology in reducing greenhouse gases and what polices will be needed to best promote the right kinds of technologies.
• Uncertainty and climate policy: how best to design policies to address climate change in the face of huge uncertainties and the long time periods over which climate change will impact the economy, ecology and society.

International Dimensions of Climate Policy

International and regional agreements on climate action: understanding how international agreements related to climate control are arrived at and what constitutes a stable and effective agreement. Climate policy and development policy: finding synergies and conflicts between the goals of climate mitigation and development.

Developing and supporting research that informs climate policy in the Basque Country

The aim is to act as the benchmark centre for research on all aspects of climate policy in the Basque Country, drawing on the substantial research that is ongoing in the universities and other research centres of the region.

Issues to be addressed will include more precise assessment of impacts, design of optimal adaptation strategies, policies for mitigation, better measurement of emissions from land use and policies to improve IPCC/GHG inventories for agriculture and land use methodologies in the Basque Country through comparison with other countries (e.g. UK).