The new Horizon Europe project to enhance carbon cycle modelling, improve climate predictions and support climate policy.

Terrestrial carbon cycle dynamics remain one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate projections, with diverging estimates of ecosystem carbon uptake, affecting the accuracy of Earth system models.

To address these challenges, CONCERTO (Improved CarbOn cycle represeNtation through multi-sCale models and Earth obseRvation for Terrestrial ecOsystems), was launched in January 2025.

CONCERTO’s kick off meeting was held on 21-22 January 2025 in Milan, Italy, where representatives of the 13 consortium partners gathered, laying the groundwork for their four-year research goals.

The project aims to advance the current understanding and modelling of the terrestrial carbon cycle, leading to reduced uncertainty in climate predictions and models. The project will also integrate cutting-edge Earth оbservation data, innovative land surface process models, data assimilation, and machine learning techniques to refine carbon cycle representation. Finally, by providing more accurate predictions of ecosystem carbon fluxes, the project will contribute to improved climate policy and support global efforts towards carbon neutrality.

"CONCERTO represents an important step towards improving Earth system models by leveraging the latest advancements in remote sensing and modelling techniques. By reducing uncertainties in carbon cycle predictions, we are paving the way for more effective climate mitigation strategies and informed policy decisions." says Manuela Balzarolo, project coordinator of CONCERTO.

More information about CONCERTO can be found on the project website. Follow us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, and YouTube for updates on research developments.

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CONCERTO receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement #101185000. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the EU nor REA can be held responsible for them.