NEVERMORE: A project to improve climate understanding

The NEVERMORE project has concluded with a final event in Sweden. The project involves a consortium of 16 partners from 8 European countries, including the Autonomous Province of Trento, and is coordinated by Fondazione Bruno Kessler, involving three centers across the board: the Center for Digital Society (DigiS), the Center for Augmented Intelligence (AI), and the Center for Sustainable Energy (SE).  The study focuses on assessing the impacts and risks of climate change and developing concrete tools to support both public and private decision-making. After four years of research and experimentation across five different European regions, including Trentino, the project leaves behind a legacy of operational tools, integrated models, and policy recommendations to more effectively address climate risks and vulnerabilities at the global, European, and local levels.

The central outcome of NEVERMORE is a digital platform that facilitates access to the assessment models developed within the project, as well as scenarios for the implementation of adaptation and mitigation policies. The toolkit, which consists of four software solutions, is designed to support public administrations, engineers, planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders:

• assess climate impacts and risks at the global and EU levels in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, food systems, transportation, and energy. (EU/Global Scale Tool)
• simulate future climate scenarios at the local and regional levels in sectors that are critical to local development (Case Study Tool)
• compare different mitigation and adaptation strategies by estimating their costs, benefits, and long-term effects (Catalogue Explorer Tool)
• raise awareness of climate change impacts and risks through gamification (Gamification Tool)

Thanks to NEVERMORE, decision-making processes can now be supported by advanced scientific models, facilitating the development of more informed and coherent climate policies.

“Bridging the gap between the complexity of climate science and the needs of decision-makers is crucial today. This project made that possible by transforming data and models into shared knowledge that can be used by a wide range of stakeholders,” Alessia Torre, project coordinator for FBK, commented. “The Foundation leveraged the cross-cutting expertise of multiple Research Centers to generate value not only at the European level, but also locally, providing concrete support to the Autonomous Province of Trento in implementing activities related to the Trentino case study.”

A key feature of the project was the strong involvement of local stakeholders, achieved through a methodology proposed by FBK, which guided co-creation processes in the five study areas, helping to ensure that the tools and results were closely aligned with the actual needs of those areas. In regions such as Trentino, for example, efforts have focused on strategic areas such as tourism, energy, and the vulnerability of mountain regions.

The project’s outcomes are further supported by a series of indicators, policy recommendations, and online training courses (MOOCs) designed to disseminate knowledge, build skills, and promote the adoption of the tools developed through the project.

With the conclusion of NEVERMORE, the tools developed through the initiative provide a solid foundation for strengthening the capacity of European regions to adapt to climate change and plan the transition toward climate neutrality.