Acclimate

Acronym: ACCLIMATE
Title: Accelerating Climate Action: Navigating towards a Low-Emissions, Climate-Resilient Future
 

What is ACCLIMATE's main goal in fighting climate change?
ACCLIMATE aims to foster integrated and more coherent national and international strategies for climate-resilient low emission development. This will provide relevant guidance to decision makers across the world to design better policies to reduce GHG emissions and promote sustainable development. To that end, the project will not only provide policy recommendations but also enhance the capacity in partner countries to develop such strategies. 

ACCLIMATE involves partners from various countries across different continents. How will this international collaboration enhance the development of climate-resilient strategies? 
The ACCLIMATE consortium involved a variety of partners from Europe, high-emitting countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and the USA) as well as low-emitting countries from West Africa, each having unique insights into relevant national circumstances and decarbonization challenges. This allows us to better take into account the relevant regional circumstances to ultimate design better policy solutions, but also to learn across regions. Furthermore, the project brings together a wide range of academic disciplines, including political science, economics, law, engineering, modelling and others.

What impact will ACCLIMATE have on policymaking and society?
ACCLIMATE will provide recommendations on how to advance climate policy at national and international level, also with a view to promote sustainable development. To that end, the consortium will closely work with national experts, policymakers and stakeholders at the national, sectoral and international levels, which are strongly anchored in their respective country or sectoral contexts and policy processes. Their participation in the project will ensure that the insights generated in the project will be exploited in further activities on the national and international level and will inform climate policymaking processes.

What is Vrije Universiteit Brussel's role in the ACCLIMATE project? 
The VUB’s main contribution to the project focuses on the qualitative analysis of national policies, the work on international cooperation and the stakeholder engagement with the industry sector. First, we will be involved in the evaluation of existing commitments and policies, focusing on the analysis of the EU. Second, together with the University of Cambridge, the VUB is leading the work on enhancing international cooperation. Finally, together with the Wuppertal Institute, the VUB will organize the ‘sectoral conversations’ with industry sector stakeholders.