EMME-CARE

The Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (EMME-CARE) operates in the context of the new Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute. Through securing funding of 45 million euros from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Cyprus Government, a new Centre of Excellence in Climate and Atmosphere research for the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region was established in January 2020 at the Cyprus Institute in cooperation with EU Advanced Partners: the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz in Germany, the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in France, and the University of Helsinki (UHEL) in Finland. The new Center of Excellence was established in Cyprus to research and solution for the effects of environmental and climate change in the EMME region. EMME, with a population of about 400 million, has been identified as a global air pollution and climate change “hotspot”, and the region is already facing adverse impacts ranging from extreme weather events to poor air quality, which are only due to intensify in the coming decades. The new Center of Excellence has set out to address these risks through a combination of research, innovation and education activities with a regional focus. It capitalizes on the strategic geopolitical location of Cyprus to create a link between Europe and the Middle East, acting as a knowledge hub for environmental and climate change research and fostering the creation of innovative and sustainable solutions that can help address the challenges facing the EMME region.