Governing the long term is becoming unavoidable
Public institutions are increasingly confronted with risks that do not fit existing decision-making frameworks. Climate change is one example—but not the only one. Many of today’s challenges share common features: impacts unfold over decades or longer, uncertainty is high and often irreducible, and decisions made today shape outcomes for future generations. At the same time, policy processes remain under pressure to deliver short-term results. This creates a growing gap between what governance systems are designed to do and what they need to do.
What CAMELOT offers
CAMELOT focuses on strengthening the capacities that enable institutions and decision-makers to engage with long-term risks more effectively. The project develops and tests approaches that can support:
- Anticipating long-term and non-linear risks
- Assessing uncertain futures in a structured way
- Linking long-term considerations to present-day decisions and actions
Rather than producing another set of recommendations, CAMELOT investigates how these capacities can actually be developed in practice.
An innovative engagement approach
The project works with policymakers across governance levels, including national governments, European institutions, and city-level governance. Through targeted engagement processes, participants are invited to explore complex future scenarios and decision challenges related to climate risks. These are not abstract exercises—they are designed to reflect real-world constraints, trade-offs, and uncertainties.
A central element of CAMELOT is the development of a new type of science–policy engagement process. This approach combines state-of-the-art scientific insights on climate risks with interactive and participatory formats, and structured reflections on long-term consequences The aim is to create an environment where participants can engage deeply with complex risk information, test different decision strategies, and reflect on how long-term considerations enter policy processes.
What participants gain
Participation in CAMELOT activities offers:
- new ways of working with long-term risk and uncertainty
- structured tools for future-oriented decision-making
- opportunities to reflect on institutional constraints and opportunities
- exchange with peers across governance levels and contexts
The focus is not on prescribing solutions, but on strengthening the ability to navigate complex futures.
Why climate tipping points?
CAMELOT uses climate tipping points as a focal issue. These risks are particularly relevant for policy because they involve potentially abrupt and irreversible change, challenge standard risk assessment approaches, and require decisions under deep uncertainty. Working on this issue allows participants to engage with the limits of current governance approaches and explore alternative ways of thinking and acting.
While rooted in climate governance, the approaches developed in CAMELOT are relevant to a wider set of policy domains, including biodiversity and ecosystem management, emerging technologies, social security, especially pension systems, infrastructure planning, societal resilience and transformation.
Engagement and collaboration
CAMELOT is designed as a platform for exchange between research and practice. If you are interested in participating in project activities or exploring collaboration, please get in touch.