The IDEAL-EU project intends to support the efforts of the European Parliament to raise awareness on climate change, and to propose the appropriate policy responses at all institutional levels (including Member States and Regions).

It will do so by deploying and disseminating in three specific regional contexts (Toscana – Italy, Poitou Charentes - France and Catalunya – Spain) an innovative Social Networking Platform to support the distribution of thematic information and the realisation of deliberative discussions among citizens and stakeholders.

In close correlation with the activities of the Temporary Committee on Climate Change, a Virtual Town Meeting will be organised at EU level, in the month of November 2008, to let European citizens discuss and vote on the issues at stake and the related recommendations to policy makers.

Anticipated impact will be threefold:

-          an increased visibility of the latest evidence on climate change, with a special respect to new and ongoing initiatives and priorities in the struggle against CO2 pollution in urban environments;

-          a bottom-up and more integrated reflection on climate changes issues at all levels of European constituency, (including EU and national institutions and agencies, academia, the business and civil society, regional and local administrations, etc.);

-          a motivated and reasonable set of recommendations to European policy making in the context of ‘Kyoto II’ negotiation rounds.