GNGTS 2023 - Atti del 41° Convegno Nazionale

Session 2.3 GNGTS 2023 I-CHANGE projec - Individual Change of HAbits Needed for Green European transition F. Munerol, L. Polo, A. Parodi CIMA Research Foundation, Savona, Italy The impacts of climate change represent the most serious threats to human and animal well-being, which don’t allow for real sustainable development. Indeed, climate change phenomena have effects on various dimensions of human life: from individual health problems to general economic growth, passing through civil protection. The I-CHANGE project faces the challenge of actively involving citizens of the territories most affected by climate change, as Mediterranean area. It also is encouraging real participation of the people in some activities related to climate and environmental change, to tackle extreme climatic phenomena all together, with greater awareness, as well as to implement measures for sustainable development and environmental protection in the framework of the European Green Deal, the European Climate Pact and the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The general guiding concept is that citizens and civil society have a central role in shaping environmental protection and climate action, and their direct involvement is essential to drive real behavioral change towards more sustainable models. I-CHANGE represents a shift of paradigm, that can be achieved through a multidisciplinary and concrete approaches: through face-to-face meetings for the exchange of experiential knowledge and scientific knowledge and the use of environmental monitoring tools. Thanks to these actions an improvement is reached for usability of environmental data, increased awareness and observation capacity of citizens, decisive participation of the various interest groups in the definition of actions for the climate and the environment. Engagement takes place in “safe places” called Living Labs, located in different socio-economic contexts (Europe, Middle East and Africa). The first year of I-CHANGE activity in the Genoa Living Lab will be presented and discussed. Reference author: Francesca Munerol francesc a.munerol@cimafoundation.org