Scientific representatives and experts who are experts in climate change and Big Data (handling large volumes of data that are too complex or too long to process through traditional methods) gathered in Bilbao from June 6. During those days, the Basque Country became the meeting place for the largest references of the scientific community participating in the 8th International Conference on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics, organized by the UN and BC3. Among other things, they looked at how climate forecasts, climate models or scientific research can help mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Basque Country, through BC3 (Basque Center for Climate Change), one of the Basque Research Centers of Excellence attached to the Department of Education of the Basque Government, wants to promote a paradigm shift when it comes to making political decisions related to climate issues, based on integrated data. Public-private collaboration and a commitment to excellent research are the main components of this bet.

As the Minister of Education Jokin Bildarratz pointed out, "Public policies in the Basque Country are based on Basque scientific policy and research". More specifically, he highlighted the efforts made in the field of Big Data and Data Science, "since data and tools that serve to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals have been created." The Basque Government, through BC3, has made a commitment to develop research of excellence and to ensure that this research has an impact on society; "that bet is specialized in analyzing the benefits and challenges of Big Data, with monitoring and reports on the goals of sustainable development", explained Bildarratz. "BC3 has given impetus to a generation of scientists and political analysts who have approached the challenges of sustainability. They use human models and environmental models to tackle the challenge of sustainability and policies", he explained.

BC3: Basque laboratory against climate change

BC3 (Basque Center for Climate Change) is one of the BERC - Basque Research Centers of Excellence attached to the Department of Education of the Basque Government. Its mission is to increase knowledge about the climate crisis. More than 100 researchers from various disciplines are working to find answers to the challenges of the climate crisis. Experts in the fields of economics, biology, sociology and engineering join forces to devise solutions to combat climate change.

BC3 is a kind of laboratory in the Basque Country to deal with one of the issues that worries society the most and has effects in various areas of society and the economy. Recently, he has analyzed the effects of the implementation of the measures of the Energy and Climate Strategy for 2030 for the European Commission. It has also contributed to Climate 2050 - the Basque Country Strategy for Climate Change, and has collaborated with the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
His main fields of work are climate science, the consumption of a low-carbon society, the connection of ecosystems with climate change, the implementation of new technologies in the fight against climate change and the integrated knowledge that arises from the relationship between all of them.

Climate change research

z They combine the environmental, socio-economic and ethical aspects of climate change.

z They offer knowledge, tools and new methodologies focused on action and collaboration.

z They create multidisciplinary knowledge and transdisciplinary knowledge to facilitate and promote international decision-making processes for sustainable development.

The view

Directing the science of climate change to the joint production of new knowledge and the joint design of solutions - implemented in the form of policies - always together with other actors, through a strong cross-disciplinary approach and with the ultimate goal of achieving sustainable development.

The purpose

The aim of BC3 is to strategically promote the joint production of knowledge relevant to decision-making, combining the environmental and socio-economic and ethical dimensions of climate change.

A program with an international reach

The meeting that took place in Bilbao is a traveling conference of the United Nations every two years, and this edition has the support of the BC3 organization. The Center has collaborated with the United Nations on these issues through the ARIES platform, together with EUSTAT - the Basque Statistical Organization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation and the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Together with the Minister of Education, Jokin Bildarratz, Imam Machdi, Deputy Statistician of Indonesia and Interim President of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics, were present at the opening ceremony of the meeting Kazumi Ogawa, head of UN-Habitat European Programs, María José Sanz, scientific director of BC3 and Elena Manzanera, president of INE.

In the afternoon, three high-level panels were held on climate change and biodiversity, the sustainability of tourism and the common good for global challenges in the field of sustainability, with experts from Indonesia, Denmark or Slovenia, international organizations such as the World Bank and the International The IMF, multinational technology companies including Google, and various United Nations organizations participated.