Overview   Environment & climate action

Eco-UV project aims to bring new UV water disinfection technology to market.

The Horizon 2020 project BINGO (Bringing INnovation to onGOing water management) has just been launched! The BINGO Opening Ceremony is open to the public and will take place on Friday 10 July, 9-11:30am, at the LNEC Congress Centre in Lisbon. Please register now on http://web.spi.pt/bingo/!

An EU-funded project that built the first hydrological model of the Black Sea region has played a key role in expanding the use of Earth observation data, putting crucial environmental information at the fingertips of scientists and policymakers globally.

By 1 December 2014 the first 100 calls had closed. What can we tell about the popularity of the programme, the success of SMEs, the degree to which the programme has attracted newcomers - both as participants and as expert evaluators - the proportion of women experts and the speed with which contracts have been signed? See this new page to find out more!

BINGO project aims at providing practical knowledge and tools to end-users, water managers, decision and policy-makers affected by climate change to enable them to better cope with all climate projections, including droughts and floods.

This four-day conference will be the largest forum for the scientific community to come together ahead of the 21st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21), which will be hosted by France in December 2015 (“Paris Climat 2015”).

The ambition of this report edveloped by the H2020 expert group on climate services is to offer a framework for discussion to the relevant actors and to the stakeholders. It paves the way to shared solutions and pathways facilitating the development of a market for climate services that provides benefits to society. The report offers an essential contribution to achieving the EU objectives of an Energy Union with a forward looking climate policy.

How might climate change affect communities and how can they cope with the impacts? To prepare the way for an EU-wide climate service that can best answer those questions, an EU-funded project has developed local climate services, identifying the data local stakeholders need – and the best ways to communicate it.

Without change, the EU will inevitably become less competitive, less attractive and less economically viable. Making changes now and into the future to a more circular, resource efficient economic model is not without risk. However, as the developing world continues along linear growth path, the EU and its Member States have the opportunity to reinvent their economies and make them globally competitive. And systemic eco-innovation is at the heart of the paradigm shift which is needed.

Nature-based solutions simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits by bringing more nature and natural features and processes into cities, landscapes and seascapes. This report presents the main findings of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on ‘Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities’.

In the Report 'Getting cultural heritage to work for Europe' the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on Cultural Heritage aims to promote cultural heritage as a production factor and an investment opportunity for the economy as well as a catalyser for social cohesion and environmental sustainability. The report is both an agenda and a roadmap, outlining the future directions of the EU Research & Innovation Policy in Cultural Heritage until 2020.

An EU-funded research project has developed a system to automatically analyse and sort materials from the soil and rock excavated during the boring of tunnels and other underground structures. The system will cut waste, help tunnelling companies generate additional revenues, and provide valuable materials to industry, say the researchers.

The Group on Earth Observations is pleased to announce the kick-off of the GEO 2015 Short Video Competition for the GEO-XII Plenary and Ministerial Summit!

The competition seeks short (up to 3 minutes) videos highlighting how GEO, and Earth observations in general, are helping to address global and regional environmental and societal challenges.

Winning videos will be shown during the GEO Ministerial Summit in Mexico City on 13 November 2015.

Timed to examine Government's post-election plans for UK science and innovation policy, and informed by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's inquiry on Priorities for science, this seminar will bring together key stakeholders from the academic community and R&D-intensive industries with policymakers.

Keynote address by Dr Jack Metthey, Director, Policy Development and Coordination: "Making the most of Horizon 2020 ‐ UK involvement in EU science programmes"

This year the theme for the conference is Global Outreach: Enabling Cultures and Diversity in Research Management and Administration. This theme reflects the growing need and ambition to reach out and get connected and work together globally. Cooperating not only in the field of scientific research & innovation and higher education but also in the field of research management and administration.

The Info Day is organised by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking to provide full information on the 2015 Call for Proposals. The session will take place from 09:00 to 12:30 in the Charlemagne Building on June 26, Rue de la Loi 170, B-1000 Brussels. You can register until 19 June 2015 via the BBI website, under the session "Events".

Most of our actions can have an impact on the environment, be it minor, long-lasting or simply irreversible. But how can this effect be measured, avoided, predicted? What are the specificities of long-term risks and how can collective decisions be taken effectively to tackle those threats?

First Innovative Enterprise week “Access to Finance for Research, Innovation and SMEs 2015” is a 3-day international conference on:

• the political answer to the macroeconomic situation
• ways to boost growth, jobs and competitiveness through innovation, including the investment Plan for the EU
• how the financial instruments, facilities and accompanying measures launched under Horizon 2020 can enhance access to finance for research, innovation and SMEs

In industrial societies, consumption has traditionally been an end in itself. Growth is achieved by selling more products, but often also results in unnecessary waste, resource depletion, pollution and other environmental damage. It doesn’t have to be this way. Research by an EU-funded project indicates that a switch to a more service-oriented approach could be better for the environment and society as a whole, while boosting growth and competitiveness.

EOPOWER, an EU-funded project that seeks to bring Earth Observation (EO) products into wider use among environmental decision-makers, is raising awareness of EO’s uses while building capacity. Strengthening the role of EO in environmental policy will contribute to sustainable economic development globally. Partners have published an online catalogue and pledged to keep up the awareness-raising after the project ends.