PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE chAnge (PANACEA)
PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE chAnge (PANACEA) is envisioned to become the high-class, integrated Research Infrastructure (RI) for atmospheric composition and climate change not only for Greece, but also for southern Europe and eastern Mediterranean, an area that is acknowledged as a hot spot for climate change.
The RI is designed to be in full compliance with EU Regulation 651/26.6.2014 and act as the Greek component of ACTRIS/ESFRI (Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research Infrastructure) and ICOS/ESFRI (Integrated CO2 Observation System).
PANACEA addresses the need for monitoring of atmospheric composition, solar radiation variations, climate change and related natural hazards in Greece, and for providing tailored services to crucial national economy sectors that are affected by air pollution and climate change, such as public health, agriculture/food security, tourism, shipping and energy/ renewables
PANACEA will act as a hub for the next generation of environmental scientists and attract promising young researchers for research and industry, bridge science with industry and entrepreneurship, induce new local jobs, new investments and market at national, EU and international level, in line with EU priorities.
PANACEA is implemented under the action “Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure”, funded by the operational programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (NSRF 2014-2020) and cofinanced by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund).
Objectives
The overarching goal of PANACEA is the integration of all existing national facilities to create a single harmonized high-class innovative distributed RI to serve and provide access to all academic/research institutions and the private sector (industry/SMEs) in the wide scientific range covered by PANACEA.
PANACEA targets at:
providing state-of- the-science expertise on issues such as climate change, air quality, natural hazards, long-range transport of pollutants and acting as a reference point for environmental disaster management, to support effective decision making by national/regional/local authorities and render tailored services to the public and private sector and acting as a validation/calibration and reference point for specialized networks for air quality monitoring;
drastically improving regional climate projections, facilitating the decision processes for adaptation and mitigation of both public and private sectors, securing the sustainability and growth of key economy sectors (e.g. tourism, health, agriculture and food security, shipping, energy including renewables) under a changing climate (fulfilling national RIS3 priorities) and
promoting innovative technological/instrumental/computational developments in synergy with local industry and SME’s, to strengthen their role in the international scientific, hardware and software market, through the design/creation of novel products and patents, and creating a platform and e-services for dissemination, education and training, summer schools and transnational access to train young students, researchers, technicians and engineers and attract senior ones to work in Greece and transfer their know-how. PANACEA will act as a hub for the next generation of environmental scientists and attract promising young researchers for research and industry, bridge science with industry and entrepreneurship, induce new local jobs, new investments and market at national, EU and international level, in line with EU priorities.