Four IPCC authors working on the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) are part of the team of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC) that shared the Council of Europe’s 2020 North-South Prize.
The award recognised MedECC coordinators, science officers and authors for their work on the first-ever scientific assessment on climate and environmental change impact in the Mediterranean region released last year. The MedECC team includes IPCC AR6 authors Wolfgang Cramer, Nathalie Hilmi, Piero Lionello and Rachid Mrabet.
Wolfgang Cramer is an environmental geographer, global ecologist and research director at France’s Mediterranean Institute for Biodiversity and Ecology. He is a Lead Author on the first chapter of the Working Group II contribution to AR6 (Point of departure and key concepts) and leads the team writing the cross-chapter paper on the Mediterranean region. He was a Lead Author on the Special Report on Global Warming of I.5°C. Cramer has worked with the IPCC in various capacities since the Second Assessment Report.
Nathalie Himli is an environmental economist at the Scientific Centre of Monaco. She is a Lead Author on chapter 18 of the Working Group II contribution to AR6 on climate resilient development pathways. She is also part of the team working on the Mediterranean region cross-chapter paper. She was a Lead Author on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryospehere in a Changing Climate.
Pireo Lionello is a professor of Atmospheric Physics and Oceanography and director of the Master’s in meteorology and Physical Oceanography of the University of Salento, in Italy. On the Working Group II contribution to AR6, Lionello is a Lead Author of Chapter 13 on Europe and an author on the cross-chapter paper on the Mediterranean region.
Rachid Mrabet is the research director and heads the science division of Morocco’s Institute for Agricultural Research. He is a Coordinating Lead Author of chapter 7 of the Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report on Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses.
The award-winning MedECC team also includes several other experts who have contributed to previous IPCC assessments as authors or Review Editors: Carlo Giupponi, Filippo Giorgi, Joël Guiot, Ana Iglesias, Robert Vautard and Samuel Somot.
The North-South Prize has been awarded each year since 1995 to two candidates who have stood out for their exceptional commitment to promoting North-South solidarity. The other 2020 laureate is the International Commission against Death Penalty (ICDP).