Different regions face different problems: in a low-lying coastal area, researchers are looking at the effect of rising sea levels, while in high mountain areas, melting glaciers that increase the risk of mass movements will attract attention. Some institutes are carrying out numerical modelling of climate patterns, while others are looking at the social and economic impact of change. Coordinated information about these national research programmes will enable each partner to learn from the others, and to avoid duplication.
CIRCLE is organised into four activities to integrate what is already being done at the national level and to take it forward as a unified effort.
The first is learning from each other- CIRCLE requires an interdisciplinary approach to integrate indicators of climate change. As well as climatology, meteorology, hydrology, biology, soil sciences, marine sciences and forestry, building technologies, sociology and medicine come into play in respect of impacts on human health, for example, those due to heat waves and possible spread of vector-borne infectious diseases.
Learning will involve exchange of knowledge and experiences on the national programmes, their scientific focus and their management practices.
This leads to planning - defining tangible ways for the national programmes to support each other on specific issues. It should then be possible to set up working links by connecting the national programmes for their mutual benefit.
The fourth and major strand is to fulfil the means of an ERA-Net by establishing transnational research programmes and joint calls, which aims at a stepwise alignment of the national research agendas.
