The Center for Climate Science and Resilience (CR)2 is a research center that brings together researchers from the social and natural sciences with the purpose of generating knowledge about climate science and resilience from an interdisciplinary approach, and studying how climate change impacts ecosystems and Chilean society. In 2024-2025, (CR)2 aims to expand its research to South America, including the Antarctic territory, to lay the groundwork for a future regional projection of the center’s work.
The Center for Climate Science and Resilience (CR2) is a research center that brings together researchers from the natural and social sciences to generate knowledge about climate science and resilience. Through an interdisciplinary approach, CR2 studies how climate change affects ecosystems and Chilean society, and seeks to provide relevant scientific evidence for decision-making and the design of responses to this challenge.
The CR2 was created in 2013 with funding from the Priority Areas Program (Fondap) of the National Research and Development Agency (Anid). Researchers from the University of Chile (the sponsoring institution), the University of Concepción, and the Austral University of Chile (associated institutions), as well as other academic institutions throughout the country, have participated in its development.
In its first development cycle (2013-2025), CR2 focused on understanding the climate system and its impacts in Chile, strengthening the national scientific community in climate science and resilience, and contributing to the design of adaptation and mitigation measures in response to climate change. During this period, the center established itself as a leading scientific institution at the national level, contributing knowledge to advance sustainable development and the carbon neutrality goal assumed by Chile under the Paris Agreement. CR2 also began to expand its research to a regional scale, incorporating the study of South America and the Antarctic territory.
Starting in 2026, CR2 will embark on a new phase of development focused on strengthening interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to address the emerging challenges of climate change. In a context marked by projected decreases in rainfall and sustained temperature increases in the country’s most populated areas, as well as by the interplay between climate vulnerabilities and socioeconomic inequalities, the center seeks to deepen its scientific and social contributions to generate robust knowledge about the impacts of climate change and resilience strategies. In this new phase, CR2 plans to expand its influence on public policy and strengthen its contributions at the national and international levels, with the goal of building more resilient societies in the face of climate change.
Mission and vision
- In its new phase, the CR2 Climate Science and Resilience Centre’s mission is to generate and mobilize scientific knowledge on climate change and resilience through excellent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, train new generations of researchers, and provide scientific evidence that allows progress towards climate-resilient development.
- Through national and international collaboration networks, CR2 seeks to strengthen scientific research in Chile and promote just climate action for the benefit of the public interest.
- In this new stage, CR2 is projected as a cutting-edge research center in climate science and resilience, situated at the forefront of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research at a global level.
- The center aims to establish itself as a scientific benchmark from Chile for South America, promoting regional collaboration and contributing to the advancement of knowledge and the building of more resilient societies in the face of climate change.