The ASPECT project began its journey in 2023 with a kick-off meeting in Exeter, UK. Two years later, partners from institutions and organisations across Europe reunited in Bologna, Italy, to discuss the project’s progress so far, while setting goals for the future.

The ASPECT project is pioneering the development of seamless climate predictions across Europe.

Held in February 2025, the two-day meeting began with updates from project researchers, highlighting key achievements and next steps. This was followed by in-depth discussions aiming to map out the next steps for integrating the results into the project activities, including the climate information delivery system, User Forums, and case studies.

The second day focused on the five case studies explored in the project, followed by thematic breakout sessions, as well as discussions on upscaling and engaging wider user communities. 

Albert Soret from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center is one of the project coordinators. He said: “Climate change is affecting our society in many different aspects, implying more extreme events, for instance, and it’s affecting different sectors like agriculture, energy, city planning. The objective of ASPECT is to develop methods, and to develop the science to meet some specific requirements and improvements. Having a better understanding of the climate and its impact on different sectors is critical.”

Taking advantage of the meeting, an in-person session was also organised for local stakeholders from the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy with an interest in climate predictions for adaptation, giving them the opportunity to hear from and interact with the project’s researchers. 

Overall, the general assembly was successful in mapping future activities and creating a strategic roadmap for ASPECT’s legacy.

ASPECT is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action project that will produce and improve seamless climate predictions covering the next 30 years to facilitate adaptation decisions in a range of sectors.