The CIRCE Project produced an overview of climate change impacts and possible adaptation actions in the Mediterranean region, that includes Europe, North Africa and Middle East. The objectives of the project were:
- to predict and to quantify physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean area
- to evaluate the consequences of climate change for the society and the economy of the populations located in the Mediterranean area
- to develop an integrated approach to understand combined effects of climate change
- to identify adaptation and mitigation strategies in collaboration with regional stakeholders
The project investigated how global and Mediterranean climates interact, the interaction between cloudiness and aerosol, the modifications in the water cycle etc. Recent observed modifications in the climate variables and detected trends were compared. The economic and social consequences of climate change were evaluated by analysing direct impacts on migration, tourism and energy markets together with indirect impacts on the economic system. CIRCE moreover investigated the consequences on agriculture, forests and ecosystems, human health and air quality. The variability of extreme events in the future scenario and their impacts were assessed. A rigorous common framework, including a set of quantitative indicators developed specifically for the Mediterranean environment was developed and used in collaboration with regional stakeholders. The results were incorporated in a decision support system tool and disseminated to the relevant users. Possible adaptation and mitigation strategies were identified.
The knowledge yielded by the different specialised investigations were then linked in an integrated inter-disciplinary approach designed to study the total effect of climate change and to make a powerful contribution to the definition and evaluation of adaptation and mitigation strategies.