In a ceremony held in Paris, France, on December 15, 2023, CEO of CREF and Cyprus Institute Professor Costas Papanicolas, was installed as an Associate Member of the Overseas Academy of Sciences of France - Académie des Sciences d’Outre-Mer (ASOM). Prof. Papanicolas’ election marks a historic moment, as he becomes the first Cypriot to receive such an honor. It is worth noting that Prof Papanicolas, a founding member of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, was also the first Cypriot to be elected as member of Academia Europaea (2011) and of the Silk Road Academy of Sciences (2017).

Prof. Papanicolas was introduced to the Academy by EEWRC Director  Prof. Fadi Comair, in the presence of ASOM President Roland Pourtier. As part of the ceremony, Prof. Papanicolas delivered a presentation on “Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East: A Regional Crisis and Its Global Implications”.

In his presentation, Prof. Papanicolas noted that the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region, home to about 450 million people and characterized by cultural, ethnic, religious, and economic diversity, is climatologically labelled by researchers as a “climate hot-spot”. “It’s greenhouse gas emissions are comparable to those of the EU and are on the rise. Climate impacts in the region are forecasted to be severe, leading to catastrophes of unprecedented magnitude with economic, political, and social implications that could have global ramifications”, he stated. Results from a two-year study by a team of approximately 240 scientists, were also presented.