The Aspen Institute Italia Prize for collaboration and scientific research between Italy and the United States, created in 2015, was awarded this year to a multidisciplinary study focused on natural catastrophe mitigation activities in Venice. The award-winning research was conducted by a team of scientists from Italy (Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change) and the United States (University of Virginia, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Army Corps of Engineers) who specialize in natural disaster risk and resilience. "The research", explains Andrea Critto, professor of Environmental Sciences at Ca' Foscari and study coordinator, "begins with a methodology integrated with various climate scenarios, which considered the quantitative analysis of risks (floods, heat waves, droughts), simulations based on future scenarios, and the qualitative assessment of the territory's priorities". Climate estimates predict that future disasters will be up to ten times more severe, with damage ranging from 200 to 500 million euros each. Physical efforts will not be enough. It will be necessary to employ social tools in order to properly address catastrophic events.
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