CO2 PACMAN

CO2 PACMAN PROJECT

Building on outcomes and tools from the previous projects Interreg Med BLUE DEAL and COMPOSE Plus and the FP7 CityZen, CO2 Pacman will provide knowledge and tools to drive the implementation of integrated strategies and policies for the challenge of climate change mitigation and adaptation; with this purpose, it will engage public authorities, citizens and stakeholders in co-creation of scenarios for the transition towards climate neutral islands.

Background
The Mediterranean area is one of the most affected territories by climate change: air and water temperature increase; extreme events of droughts, heat waves and flash floods; ecosystem health and biodiversity problems, implying also risks in food and energy security. CO2 Pacman directly refers to the common territorial challenge of establishing climate-neutral economies in the Euro-Med context and worldwide by means of an integrated vision of territories’ transition to sustainable and resilient communities. Contextually, it promotes multi-purpose actions for climate change mitigation/adaptation, based on exploiting and promoting local knowledge and assets, ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth, energy security and improved quality of life, demonstrating how these challenges are deeply interconnected.

General objectives
CO2 Pacman will benefit from the different and complementary expertise of project partners and will foster transnational cooperation to create a favorable environment for knowledge increase and exchange, to empower the innovation capacity of PAs and raise awareness of citizens on the opportunities of transition to a net-zero carbon economy.
Studying Approach
The project forecasts the following main innovative practices:

• CO2 Pacman Rooting Labs. Three-day workshops in pilot islands (1st round) made of co-working and interactive sessions involving project partners and local stakeholders for onsite investigations, data collection, knowledge sharing and discussion on specific potential solutions.
• CO2 Pacman Tool. The Carbon Footprint of the island will be assessed and represented in terms of virtual forestland needed to absorb the equivalent amount of CO2 emission.
• Citizen Engagement. A set of activities, inspired by the BLUE DEAL “askyourcitizensonbe” tool, will be defined to let citizens be the main actors in the participatory process and contribute to identifying the best chances for transition to a low-carbon economy.
• Youth Think Tank. Engagement of young students of secondary schools and universities of pilot islands and beyond called to co-create and represent their vision of a net zero carbon future.
• Open Innovation Collaborative Action. Engagement of technical and technological companies called to send their proposals in the field of renewable energies and ecosystem-based solutions.
• 3D virtual reality experience. 3D simulations in a virtual world, containing landscapes, location-specific objects and 3D intervention elements to help PAs, stakeholders and citizens visualize and assess potential installations and interact within a virtual environment for a highly engaging immersive experience.
• CO2 Pacman “The Island I Would Like” Labs and transition Roadmap. Three-day workshops in pilot islands (2nd round) aimed at presentation and discussion of project results open to local stakeholders and citizens and synthesis of a climate-neutral transition Roadmap

Partner
Ecodynamics Group is the lead partner (LP) of this project which includes other 12 partners from 7 countries in the MED area:
1. University of Siena – Italy (IT)
2. University of Florence – Italy (IT)
3. SDEWES Centre – Croatia (HR)
4. CEEI Valencia – Spain (ES)
5. EPLO – Greece (EL)
6. GEO – Cyprus (CY)
7. TUC-ReSEL – Greece (EL)
8. SDC – Croatia (HR)
9. RA USK – IPA – Bosnia Herzegovina (BA)
10. GIITT – Bulgaria (BG)