© Aerophile by Clément Chauvet
ECMWF has been invited to showcase its two Copernicus services at the Ballon Generali de Paris today, 29 April, marking the start of an exciting new five-year scientific partnership with insurance company Generali to advance awareness and research on global warming and air quality monitoring.
ECMWF is pleased to participate with Generali, in a partnership with the City of Paris and tethered balloon company Aerophile, in activities that will raise the profile of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), which are implemented by ECMWF on behalf of the European Commission as part of the Copernicus Earth observation programme.
“The invitation from the Ballon Generali de Paris to partner with such an emblematic project is an opportunity to bring scientific data closer to the general public, particularly those we develop at ECMWF as part of the Copernicus Climate and Atmosphere Services we implement for the European Commission,” said Vincent-Henri Peuch, Director for Engagement with the European Union at ECMWF.
“These data are essential for understanding and analysing climate change from both a historical and a global perspective. The new Ballon Generali de Paris highlights three of our climate indicators, and we hope that the public will become even more interested in learning about the science, technology, and observations that enable us to develop them.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended (from left to right) by Matthieu Chevallier (Head of Evaluation Section, ECMWF), Matthieu Gobbi (Co-founder of Aerophile), Dan Lert (City of Paris), Elise Ginioux (Marketing Director of Generali France), Jean-Laurent Granier (CEO of Generali France), and Jérôme Giacomoni (Co-founder of Aerophile). The balloon displays indicators for the increase in average annual temperature in the world; the increase in average annual temperature in Europe; and the increase in average monthly temperature in Europe.
Under the aegis of the Generali Climate Lab, the creation of a scientific consortium will bring together a pool of high-level scientific experts from the Copernicus programmes, CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) laboratories and members of ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System). The consortium's primary objective will be to better inform the general public about the challenges of global warming and its effects on health.
“By combining research, awareness and solutions, the Ballon Generali de Paris embodies Generali's commitments to the environment and health and its sustainability policy, which is already at the forefront of the insurance sector,” said Jean-Laurent Granier, CEO of Generali France.
“We are delighted that such a leading European organisation as ECMWF–Copernicus is joining the consortium of scientific partners around the Generali Climate Lab to continue our research work to develop the environmental health prevention solutions of tomorrow.”
The Ballon Generali de Paris, launched first by Aerophile in 1999 and approved for use by the public, is both a unique flying laboratory hosting cutting-edge scientific equipment and a touristic attraction that offers a one-of-a-kind view of Paris.
For more information, check the Ballon Generali de Paris website.
