CROSS-CASCADE General Meeting successfully concludes at PIK
The first General Meeting of CROSS-CASCADE has come to a successful close. Hosted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Potsdam, the meeting brought together an enthusiastic and highly engaged community of researchers working to better understand cross-sectoral cascading climate impacts across Europe and to develop coherent policy responses that can support effective adaptation.
Over several days, participants exchanged ideas across sectors, disciplines, and modelling communities. The programme included sectoral meetings, cross-sector discussions, poster sessions, working group sessions, keynote talks, and dedicated discussions on future contributions to climate-impact research and policy processes. Topics ranged from water, biodiversity, fisheries, forests, peatlands, agriculture, energy, labour, health, and macroeconomic impacts to policy coherence, impact transmission, data protocols, and stakeholder-oriented policy simulations.
Meetings like this are essential for building an international research community capable of addressing complex climate risks. Cascading climate impacts do not stop neatly at sectoral or national borders. They can move through trade, finance, migration, infrastructure, health systems, ecosystems, and policy decisions. CROSS-CASCADE therefore brings together climate modellers, economists, policy experts, environmental scientists, social scientists, health researchers, and many others to build a shared understanding of how these risks interact and propagate.
Over the next four years, CROSS-CASCADE will work towards common protocols, harmonised datasets, and a coordinated framework for cross-sectoral, multi-model climate-impact studies. A central aim will be to identify key interactions among climate impacts across sectors and to better understand how these impacts are transmitted through social, economic, ecological, and political systems.
We warmly thank everyone who attended the workshop, both in person and online, for their valuable contributions, active participation, and strong commitment to the initiative. Special thanks go to Christopher Reyer, Martin Park, and PIK for hosting the meeting and creating excellent conditions for productive discussions, new collaborations, and the development of concrete plans.
We also thank the keynote speakers, Johan Rockström, Bart van den Hurk, and Marina Romanello, for their inspiring contributions. Their talks helped frame the urgency and relevance of cross-sectoral climate-impact research for science, policy, and society.
The meeting leaves CROSS-CASCADE with strong momentum: excellent ideas, concrete action points, and a clear direction for the coming years. We look forward to building on this foundation and continuing the collaborative work ahead.
This workshop is funded by COST Action CROSS-CASCADE, CA24163. COST is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This supports research, careers, and innovation.