Improving climate change models in the Mediterranean Climate service networks are vital at a local and regional level to provide information to policymakers, industry and researchers. A new project is using a bottom-up approach to develop a climate service for the Mediterranean. Climate Change and Environment © Thinkstock The greater Mediterranean region is widely considered to be vulnerable to global warming. It is therefore important to improve on climate change data services in the area, in particular with regards to the communication of timely and relevant information. 'Climate local information in the Mediterranean region: Responding to user needs' (CLIM-RUN) is an EU-funded project set up to address these issues. The project involves stakeholders in the development of climate change models to ensure that their needs are met. To provide the most useful data to industry and government, CLIM-RUN consulted with these stakeholders about their needs, particularly in the energy and tourism sectors. Climate change models were then developed or modified keeping their needs in mind. These models have been successfully tested in several case studies in the Mediterranean region. CLIM-RUN will also provide training for researchers working at the interface between climate modelling results and the application of produced data. Project members will mainly focus on communicating CLIM-RUN results to relevant parties in the field. CLIM-RUN is improving on the communication of climate change data between researchers and industry. The methods developed by the project will eventually be implemented to create a climate services network for the Mediterranean region. Successful outcomes could also mean a pan-European climate network in the future.
