The aim of the project was to assess the potential use of a combination of ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems with photovoltaic (PV) systems for the building sector of Cyprus from an energy, environmental and economic viewpoint, and to explore their potential to contribute to the achievement of nearly zero energy buildings for the country’s specific climate conditions. 

• CALL/ROLE: Coordinator

Agriculture in the Mediterranean region is constrained by limited rain and highly variable climate conditions. Irrigation forms an important means of stabilizing and increasing agricultural production in these environments. Since its independence in 1960, Cyprus has made important investments in the agricultural sector through the establishment of dams and irrigation networks. However, decreasing precipitation trends, rising water prices and a changing climate are posing new challenges. The overall goals of this project were: (1) to provide recommendations for climate change adaptation for the agricultural sector in Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean region; (2) to establish a consortium of excellence in natural resource management research in Cyprus for tackling the challenges imposed by climate change on agriculture in the Mediterranean region. The project documented and analyzed available knowledge and data, filled in critical knowledge gaps and developed the Cyprus green-blue water model to compute sustainable irrigation water supplies, agricultural water use, crop yields and economic indicators.

• CALL/ROLE: Partner

The European Union adopted ambitious climate policies for the period 2013-2020. These legally binding measures may have significant effects on households, firms and the public sector of Cyprus. Therefore, this project has used innovative economic methods and detailed national data in order to assess the impacts of these policies on the economy of Cyprus. It involved the development of two innovative economic models, one for the production side (for different sectors of the economy of Cyprus) and one for the consumption side, i.e. for households. On the production side, a dynamic factor demand model was developed that enables estimating econometrically the effect of energy price changes on productivity, competitiveness and employment for each economic sector. On the consumption side, an innovative model was specified in order to estimate household demand for energy and other goods and services, taking into account heterogeneity both within composite commodity groups and between households. Τhe effects of the EU energy and climate legislation were simulated with these models up to the year 2020, based on assumptions on the evolution of energy and carbon prices. 

• CALL/ROLE: Coordinator

This project has focused on optimising water resource management in Cyprus, based on a detailed analysis of water in the agricultural sector of the country, which is the largest water-using sector both in Cyprus and worldwide. For each community of Cyprus and each year of the most recent 15-year period, water needs were calculated using very detailed location-specific data and applying the novel approach of "virtual water". In the absence of official and year-to-year records of agricultural water use, this is the appropriate methodology to estimate actual crop water use. These estimations were then incorporated in a model that optimises water allocation by water source and crop, in order to maximise the net economic benefits of the agricultural sector of the country. Simulations that were carried out with this model demonstrate that - through proper long-term planning and restructuring of the agricultural sector - it is possible to increase the value added of this sector in Cyprus even under worsening water scarcity conditions in the future as foreseen by climate change models.

• CALL/ROLE: Coordinator