New centre of excellence for climate research to be located in Brussels

The Council of Ministers have agreed on the creation of a centre of excellence for the climate, the secretary of state in charge of science policy Thomas Dermine announced on Friday.

The permanent centre will be located on the Uccle plateau and will be integrated into the operations of the Federal Scientific Institutions which include the Royal Meteorological Institute, Institute of Space Aeronomy, Royal Observatory of Belgium, and Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, among others.

Its mission will be to coordinate climate research programs of the institutions, strengthen their collaboration with other research centres and universities, and focus more on the needs of economic and political actors, such as adaptation measures and natural risk management.

The climate centre will have an annual budget of €2 million.

“We have obtained an additional €2 million per year for the climate centre,” Dermine announced. “This is a 20% increase on top of the €10 million per year already earmarked for climate research. The intention is that this will be the largest climate research centre in Europe."