IAM COMPACT held its final event at the Acropolis Museum, on August 29, 2025
After three very productive years of smooth collaboration among 22 research teams across the globe, and alongside hundreds of policymakers and other stakeholders in a co-creation process to dynamically respond to changing policy priorities, the IAM COMPACT project has now come to an end.
The project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme, sought to set up a novel engagement process, the Policy Response Mechanism, to coordinate scientific efforts that respond to what policymakers, industry leaders, and citizens are most concerned about. Within two cycles of this Mechanism, IAM COMPACT produced dozens of research studies that were transparently co-designed with stakeholders.
The project’s final, public conference was held on Friday, August 29, 2025, at the Acropolis Museum, in Athens, Greece.
The policy event, titled ‘Responsive Science in Support of Climate Policy Making’, was co-organised with ELLINIKI ETAIREIA Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET). On the day, more than 150 participants attended the final conference and had the opportunity to learn about our key findings, ask their questions, and raise their concerns, allowing to collectively discuss on the future of Greece, the EU, selected major emitting and less developed countries, and the planet.
The conference agenda included five thematic sessions, some welcome notes and opening remarks by the two co-hosts, panel discussions with external moderators, as well as a policy intervention by Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas.
The day began with registrations, coffee, and informal exchanges, followed by a welcome address from Lydia Carras, President of ELLET, and John Psarras, Director of EPU-NTUA (the institute coordinating IAM COMPACT). Introductory remarks were then offered, with Alexandros Nikas (National Technical University of Athens) introducing the IAM COMPACT project, and Ugne Keliauskaite (Bruegel) presenting a policy response mechanism for policy-relevant modelling science.
In the first session, we focused on delivering on the European Green Deal, examining EU-wide resilience, the role of Member States, citizens, and climate justice. Rasmus Magni Johannsen (Aalborg University) opened with a presentation on security, flexibility, and resilience of the EU’s energy system decarbonisation. This presentation was followed by Natasha Frilingou (National Technical University of Athens), who discussed aligning National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) with the ‘Fit for 55’ policy package. Jon Sampedro (Basque Centre for Climate Change) then explored the distributional impacts of EU climate policy, before Gonzalo Parrado Hernando (University of Valladolid) presenting the implications of lifestyle changes to deliver on net zero in the bloc. This first session concluded with a panel discussion and Q&A, moderated by Yannis-Orestis Papadimitriou (in.gr).
The second session explored the interplay between trade, industry, and Europe’s competitiveness in the context of net zero. Alexander Jülich (Wuppertal Institut) examined the EU steel industry and the dynamics of offshoring, reshoring, and relocation. Shivika Mittal (CICERO) presented the project’s work on renewable hydrogen trade in a global decarbonised energy system, while Eleftheria Zisarou (E3-Modelling S.A.) highlighted geopolitically constrained pathways to carbon neutrality. In an intervention from the ENTICE research project, Maro Baka (E3-Modelling S.A.) discussed the trade-climate-industry nexus in a fragmenting world. The session closed with a panel discussion moderated by Christina Tigka (Institute of Communication and Computer Systems) on behalf of the TRANSIENCE research project.
After a lunch break, the focus shifted to Greece’s net zero transition. Gianna Kitsara (National Observatory of Athens) delved into the projected impacts of climate change in Greece, followed by Dimitris Kollias (Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy), who introduced the country’s updated NECP and the associated funding requirements and available tools. Subsequently, Nikolaos Kleanthis (University of Piraeus) addressed pathways to a decarbonised built environment, while Vasiliki Pougkakioti (ELLET) linked adaptation, resilience, environment, and national heritage. The panel discussion was moderated by Thomas Doxiadis (doxiadis+), who additionally presented findings from an urban landscape perspective.
The afternoon continued with a session on trade-offs and co-benefits between climate action and broader sustainable development. Konstantinos Koasidis (National Technical University of Athens) discussed the challenge of optimally allocating mitigation efforts across sectors with a view to optimising performance across several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Theo Rouhette (Basque Centre for Climate Change) then addressed biodiversity, material resources, and biophysical limits, while Noelia Ferreras-Alonso (CARTIF) discussed land-use policies and renewable energy expansion. Finally, Alaa Al Khourdajie (Imperial College London) reflected on the impact of disruptive events in climate planning. A panel discussion followed, moderated by Dimitra Spatharidou (HOLISTIC S.A.), on behalf of the DIAMOND project consortium.
A policy intervention was then delivered by Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens, before the final session of the day, which focused on developing new technical capabilities in countries with limited domestic capacity. Francesco Gardumi (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) introduced a novel framework for capacity development, while Borys Dodonov (Kyiv School of Economics) shared insights on energy modelling capacity in Ukraine amidst conflict. Camilla Lo Giudice (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) presented nexus modelling efforts in recession-hit Sri Lanka and discussed whole-systems analysis amid polycrisis in Ethiopia. The session concluded with Francesco Gardumi highlighting capacity building efforts in Kenyan academia.
