Climatrix Lab – Multilevel Climate Governance and Computational Sustainability Lab

Climatrix Lab is a research project aimed at better understanding and improving climate policies – from the global level, through European and regional frameworks, down to local action in cities and municipalities. We are interested not only in what climate goals are announced, but above all in why some strategies work. In contrast, others become bogged down in disputes, social resistance, or coordination failures across institutions. We pay particular attention to Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where the energy transition is simultaneously a matter of climate, security, the economy, and geopolitical tensions.

The project also responds to a challenge that has quickly become highly pressing: the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. Modern AI systems and data centers consume vast amounts of energy and water. This means that the tools increasingly relied upon by public institutions, business, and science can themselves become a significant burden on the climate and on natural resources – and, in regions affected by drought or smog, can also impact public health and quality of life. That is why, at Climatrix Lab, we treat climate policy and digital technologies as inseparably linked parts of the same puzzle: it is not possible to credibly plan for climate neutrality without accounting for the growing environmental costs of computation and AI.

The core innovation lies in combining social-science and public-policy research with computational sustainability – that is, designing and using computational methods in an environmentally responsible way. We bring together comparative policy analysis, social research, spatial risk assessment, and computational modeling (including multi-agent models and game theory), along with approaches that ensure transparency and verifiability of AI-based tools. The intended result is twofold: on the one hand, better explanations and forecasts of how climate governance works; on the other, solutions that are not only “smart” but also energy-efficient, water-conscious, and socially just.

We work across three levels. Globally, we analyze the architecture of climate agreements and processes (including those within the UNFCCC framework and IPCC findings). Regionally, we focus on the European Union and Central and Eastern European countries – a region particularly exposed to climate risks and sensitive to energy shocks. Locally, we co-create tools with local governments to test them in real decision-making: heat adaptation plans, water management, mobility, and spatial planning.

In practice, the project consists of several tightly interconnected research strands. First, we diagnose how climate and security policies (energy, food, and social issues) are configured, and where contradictions and “bottlenecks” emerge. In parallel, we study social responses to the transition: where acceptance comes from, where resistance arises, and what role is played by perceptions of fairness, citizen participation in decision-making, and misinformation. To this end, we are establishing an observatory that monitors climate debate and polarization in Poland and across the CEE region, translating the findings into guidance for designing more inclusive policies.

As a result, Climatrix Lab will deliver integrated models and decision-support tools: policy simulators that incorporate social justice, risk maps supporting adaptation, and solutions that make the real environmental costs of digital technologies visible. The project also has a practical dimension: training and capacity-building for public administration and NGOs, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, to ensure that climate decisions are simultaneously effective, socially acceptable, and technologically responsible.

Climatrix Lab is based on a simple premise: it is not enough to plan climate policy “on paper.” We must understand how it operates in a world of conflicting interests, inequality, and information (sometimes false), while also remembering that digital tools – especially AI – have their own environmental footprint. Only by combining these perspectives can we create solutions that truly accelerate the transition, rather than inadvertently slowing it down.