Project KNOWING has reached a major milestone with the release of Deliverable D2.4, the Expandable Impact Interaction Model Framework marking the project’s transition from conceptual design to an operational tool for integrated climate assessment.
At the heart of the framework is a central System Dynamics (SD) model that couples a system-wide perspective with high-resolution domain models covering transport, energy demand and supply, microclimate, health, land use, and flooding. This hybrid approach makes it possible to capture what sectoral models alone cannot: cross-sectoral feedback loops, time delays, and the unintended side-effects of climate interventions.
A key innovation is the iterative calibration methodology. The SD sub-models are calibrated stepwise against outputs from the corresponding domain models, which serve as trusted reference baselines. This ensures model behaviour remains credible across a range of plausible futures up to 2050.
The framework has been successfully demonstrated across four diverse European regions: Tallinn (urban heat & health), Granollers (pluvial & fluvial flooding) and Naples (flooding & infrastructure), and South Westphalia (soil fertility and agriculture). Selected results illustrate how the model reveals synergies and co-benefits that single-sector planning misses, such as urban tree planting simultaneously reducing heatwave temperatures, capturing CO₂, and reducing car use through traffic calming, a concept the deliverable refers to as “Multisolving.”
In support of open science, all SD models and sub-models are publicly available on Zenodo. The deliverable also includes practical guidance on downloading and running the models, adjusting interventions, and transferring pathways to other regions making it a resource not just for the KNOWING consortium, but for climate planners and researchers beyond the project.
About KNOWING
KNOWING is a Horizon Europe project that develops tools, models and participatory formats to support climate-transformation. By combining scientific analysis with local knowledge and stakeholder input, the project supports regions and sectors to understand climate risks, assess options, and design effective, inclusive pathways for change.