Mitigating heat waves and pollution in urban areas does not depend on applying a single green solution. Instead, it is necessary to strategically combine infrastructures such as urban parks and peri-urban agriculture with construction measures like white roofs, according to a research conducted by ICTA-UAB.

Professor Emilio Palomares, director of the ICIQ, appeared today before the Energy Transition Committee of the Parliament of Catalonia as part of the proposed law on urgent measures to protect climate security. During his speech, Palomares defended that research is one of the fundamental tools to offer real solutions to the challenges of the climate emergency, while placing industrial decarbonization as a priority axis for the Catalan economy. “If in the end people lose their jobs, we will not only have a climate crisis, but it will be a social crisis,” he warned.

The director of the ICIQ highlighted the strategic role of Tarragona, which is home to the largest chemical hub in southern Europe, as the ideal place to lead the energy transition and “the great industrial revolution in Europe“. Palomares stressed that the chemical industry is not the problem, but an “indispensable part of the solution” to achieve climate neutrality.

In this regard, the institute’s leading projects stand out, such as the design and construction of pilot plants for industrial decarbonisation. This project, endowed with 22 million euros of ERDF funds, acts as a bridge between the laboratory and industry to validate technologies for capturing and using CO2 in semi-industrial environments.

Situation of the chemical sector

Despite the technological potential, Palomares has issued a warning about the  situation of basic chemistry in Europe. He cited data that indicate a real risk of divestment and job losses due to the high cost of energy and competition from markets such as the United States and China.

“The question is whether we want to decarbonise with industry here or with delocalized industry and imported emissions,” questioned the director of the ICIQ. In this sense, Palomares has proposed to the parliamentary groups a series of measures that could facilitate the energy transition for the industrial fabric, such as the use of the responsible declaration, competitive energy prices or zero-consumption tariffs. Palomares also called for Catalonia to bet on biogas.

Watch the full intervention here.

La entrada The director of the ICIQ defends the fundamental role of research and industrial decarbonisation in Parliament se publicó primero en ICIQ.

The study shows that disease severity and poor prognosis in ATTR-CM are associated with elevated levels of mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM), a biomarker associated with disease severity across a broad range of conditions, including sepsis. This finding could help identify high-risk patients more precisely. The study was led by Dr. Pablo García-Pavía, leader of the Hereditary Cardiomyopathies group at the CNIC, a cardiologist at Hospital Puerta de Hierro, and a member of the Spanish cardiovascular research network (CIBERCV).

ATTR-CM is a progressive disease in which a substance called amyloid protein accumulates in the heart. Amyloid deposits cause the walls of the heart to thicken and become more rigid, and the disease is often referred to as stiff heart syndrome. Disease symptoms include fluid retention, fatigue, and arrhythmias. If untreated, these symptoms progress to heart failure, and eventually to death. ATTR-CM can arise from a hereditary genetic mutation or be age-related. Disease prognosis is poor, with a mean survival without treatment of just three years. Despite the introduction of new treatments in recent years, accurately predicting disease progression in individual patients remains a major challenge.

“One of the biggest challenges with this disease is knowing which patients are at the greatest risk of worsening disease,” explains Pablo García-Pavía. “Our results indicate that MR-proADM can help identify those patients who are at a greater risk of heart failure events and death.”

ATTR-CM is a progressive disease in which a substance called amyloid protein accumulates in the heart 

The study included patients diagnosed with ATTR-CM at Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro and Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol. The results were validated in two independent external cohorts: a cohort of 210 patients at centers in the United States and another cohort of 416 patients enrolled in the ATTR-ACT clinical trial.

The study shows that MR-proADM provides information not provided by conventional clinical markers, extending the ability to predict possible disease complications.

“Having access to tools that can fine-tune prognosis is essential for tailoring follow-up and treatment to each patient,” adds study first author Dr. Belén Peiró.

In Dr. García-Pavía’s view, this type of advance “takes us a step closer to a more personalized treatment for heart failure.”

By improving identification of patients at high risk, the incorporation of MR-proADM into patient assessment could have a direct impact on clinical practice, enabling closer follow-up and supporting more precise treatment decisions.

The study, concludes Dr. García-Pavía, supports the use of emerging biomarkers to improve the clinical management of complex cardiovascular diseases and to help move treatment toward more personalized strategies.

• Peiró-Aventín B, Revuelta-Lopez E, Brandao M, Nuñez J, Fernández-Rojo MA, Carmona RM, Montejo B, Ferrando-Muñoz A, Martín-García A, Gonzalez-Lopez E, Dominguez F, Camblor A, Ruiz-Cueto M, Lupon J, Teryua S, Bampatsias D, Jahan I, Royuela A, Masri A, Maurer MS, Bayes-Genis A, Garcia-Pavia P. MR-ProADM Predicts Mortality and Heart Failure Events in ATTR Cardiac Amyloidosis. Circulation. 2026 Mar 31. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077833. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41914183.