The project will develop well-targeted and sound communication material that raises awareness on our (individual and collective) responsibility and interest in ensuring the sustainability of the ocean and of its ecosystems. The project builds on critical assessments of: (1) existing communication strategies, material and governance that focuses on the ocean; (2) the values, perceptions and understanding of the state, functioning and role of the ocean by different types of stakeholders and of the wider public; (3) the (scientific) knowledge that exist on the ocean-human relationship, in particular in terms of ecosystem services that can be delivered by ocean ecosystems and support (future) development opportunities and blue growth and of pressures that are imposed on the oceans. These critical assessments will help identifying priority target groups with key responsibilities and interests in the state of our oceans - today and in the future. Within a participatory process involving the stakeholders of the knowledge creation & sharing system from four European marine regions (Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Northern Sea and Atlantic _ including in its transatlantic dimension), and building on the scientific knowledge-base established and on project-dedicated IT strucure/platform, the project will then develop and test under real conditions innovative communication tools. Key principles guiding this development will be interactivity, mutual learning, creativity and entertainment. Finally, specific activities will be performed for ensuring proposed communication tools are made accessible and available to their future users in Europe but also elswhere.

According to the EU’s Climate Adaptation Strategy (COM(2021) 82), “improving knowledge and managing uncertainty” is key for realising the vision of a climate neutral and climate-resilient Union, as “Climate change is having such a pervasive impact that our response to it must be systemic”. Thus, there is an urgent need for an integrated approach for an enhanced understanding of the interaction, complementarity and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation measures, especially regarding the expected increase in region-al mean temperature, precipitation and changing soil moisture (IPCC AR6 WG I). Furthermore, this under-standing and knowledge needs to be provided to a broad audience to support local authorities in EU partner countries in developing regional programmes. KNOWING aims to develop a modelling framework to help understand and quantify the interactions between impacts and risks of climate change, mitigation pathways and adaptation strategies. The framework will be used to assess thAdvancing climate science and further broadening and deepening the knowledge base is essential to inform the societal transition towards a climate neutral and climate resilient society by 2050, as well as towards a more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030. There is a need for research that furthers our understanding of past, present and expected future changes in climate and its implications on ecosystems and society, closing knowledge gaps, and develops the tools that support policy coherence and the implementation of effective mitigation and adaptation solutions. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge of the Earth system and the ability to predict and project its changes under different natural and socio-economic drivers, especially regarding complex interrelations, rebound effects and behavioural aspects. Therefore, a holistic, system-aware and behaviour centred approach is needed to identify and implement realistic and effective climate mitigation pathways.

The warming of the climate system is unequivocal and continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes. Islands are particularly vulnerable to Climate Change (CC) consequences but the coarse spatial resolution of available projections makes it difficult to derive valid statements for islands. Moreover, science-based information about the economic impacts of CC in marine and maritime sectors is scarce, and current economic models lack of solid non-market assesment. Policy makers must have accurate information about likely impact chains and about the costs and benefits of possible strategies to implement efficient measures. SOCLIMPACT aims at modelling downscaled CC effects and their socioeconomic impacts in European islands for 2030–2100, in the context of the EU Blue Economy sectors, and assess corresponding decarbonisation and adaptation pathways, complementing current available projections for Europe, and nourishing actual economic models with non-market assessment, by: • Developing a thorough understanding on how CC will impact the EU islands located in different regions of the world. • Contributing to the improvement of the economic valuation of climate impacts by adopting revealed and stated preference methods. • Increasing the effectiveness of the economic modelling of climate impact chains, through the implementation of an integrated methodological framework (GINFORS, GEM-E3 and non-market indicators). • Facilitating climate-related policy decision making for Blue Growth, by ranking and mapping the more appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies. • Delivering accurate information to policy makers, practitioners and other relevant stakeholders. SOCLIMPACT addresses completely this Work Programme providing advances in the economic valuation of climate-induced impacts, and in climate and economic models, allowing downscaled projections of complex impact chains, and facilitating the resilience capacity of these vulnerable lands.