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In today’s Morning Brief, we bring you a collaboration between the European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the EIB is tripling climate adaptation finance, China and the US announce deal to accelerate climate action, and more!     

Any comments or suggestions, hit me up with an email on teresa.carvalho@inesc.pt.

In today's Morning Brief:

In today’s Morning Brief:

European Commission and European Union Intellectual Property Office commit to closer collaboration

Yesterday, the European Commission Directorate General Research and Innovation, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agenda (EISMEA), and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) signed a letter of intent for co-operation on intellectual property management.

This will lead to develop a process of co-operation towards closer collaboration between these parties regarding intellectual property management. This will directly support the European Research Area’s intent to translate results into the economy, ensuring market uptake of research output and Europe’s competitive leadership in technology.

The signatories will coordinate their efforts in terms of:

– awareness raising activities on IP;

– support measures for innovative SMEs to boost their innovation potential and improve the understanding of the benefits that IP can provide.

In addition, they will share IP related data and will cooperate in management policy development and knowledge transfer activities.

Read more about this here.

New report on Climate Action in a Post-COVID-19 world from EU funded projects.

Don’t miss the European Commission’s newest report on the urgect need to act on the climate crisis if we want to save the planet and ourselves, which the COVID-19 pandemic, and its reminder of the need for wellbeing in the planet, has led to a surge in recovery strategies for a genuine paradigm shift.

This report focuses on what advice can the research community give to policymakers at this critical moment, against the backdrop of COP26, to help them shape a greener, more equitable and prosperous future for all with the help of EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects.

Make sure to read it here.

EIB to triple climate adaptation finance

The European Investment Bank (EIB) launched its first dedicated Adaptation Plan to support projects around the world to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

EIB President Werner Hoyer commented: “Climate change is already happening today, and it is threatening the lives and wellbeing of more and more people around the world. Together with our partners, we must scale up finance and technical assistance to support projects to protect vulnerable communities worldwide”.

The EIB Adaptation Plan supports the objectives of the European Union Adaptation Strategy inside and outside the EU. The EIB pledges to increase the share of adaptation support to 15% of the bank’s overall finance for climate action by 20215. The EIB will screen all projects it finances for the risks of climate change and ensure they are adapted for future changes.

Click here to find out more details about this plan.

COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech acquires EIT Health start-up

Yesterday, EIT Health announced the acquisition of one of its supported start-ups: PhagoMed GmbH, by BioNTech SE. PhagoMed is developing novel synthetic lysin technology for precision antimicrobial treatments and was accelerated by EIT Health under its Gold Track programme.

According to Jan-Philipp Beck, CEO of EIT Health, “antimicrobial resistance is a huge concern for public health all over the world. Science and innovation is needed to find new and alternative solutions to antibiotics that are losing effectiveness, as we have seen from the last two years that we are not safe from infectious diseases.”

To find out more about the Gold Track programme, click here.

China and US announce deal to accelerate climate action this decade

The world’s two biggest emitters released a surprise joint statement this week setting out their intention to “seize on this critical moment to engage in expanded individual and combined efforts to accelerate the transition to a global net zero economy”.

Under the deal, both sides promised to act in this “decisive decade” to reduce emissions and keep the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise well below 2 degrees and pursue efforts for 1.5 degrees within reach.

Both nations recognized that there remains a gap between current national carbon-cutting pledges and policies and what is needed to achieve the Paris goals.

This move could see a possible deal for climate plans to cover a five-year period to be struck over the next couple days.

If you want to read more about this click here.

Challenge of greening agri-food system is ‘absolutely massive’

Discussions on climate change often focus on the usual suspects when talking about emissions: power generation, cars and planes, shipping, and factories.

But the emissions from food and drink, measured from farm to fork, make up an estimated 30% of total carbon emissions in the EU, with the manufacturing process accounting for about a tenth of these emissions.

Policymakers and the industry are looking at ways to reduce this necessary sector’s carbon footprint to carbon neutrality by 2050, the overall goal for the entire economy. However, because it involves such a large value chain with so many actors, the food and drink sector may be one of the trickier ones to decarbonize.

The industry recently published a Roadmap that could serve as a basis for decarbonizing the food manufacturing sector, with the EU’s carbon neutrality target and the SDGs in mind.

“Agriculture is a challenging area – if you look at the food and drink industry, nothing will happen if we don’t reduce the footprint from agriculture, but we know the science on agriculture isn’t quite there yet,” said Chris Daly, chief sustainability officer for Europe at PepsiCo. “If you look at the carbon footprint of a food and beverage company, 30-40% will come from agriculture. Therefore, we absolutely need to get agriculture going in the right direction.”

Read all about this here.

More Articles

01/11/2023 – Lisbon crowned European Capital of Innovation, Canada´s association to Horizon Europe, €75.35B boost to the ERA, new energy projects for the Green Deal & much more

In today’s Morning Brief:
Funding
Calls open for 2023 Innovation Fund proposals with record €4B budget
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to develop the Smart Specialization Observatory
Fighting extreme weather with extreme computing power
Energy
Commission proposes 166 cross-border energy projects for EU support to help deliver the European Green Deal
Commission sets out actions to accelerate the roll-out of electricity grids
Microelectronics
EU and India sign semiconductor memorandum of understanding
Research & Innovation
Canada to sign Horizon Europe association deal next year
No more New European Bauhaus Mission
Nature-inspired flying robots: advancements in environmental monitoring
Over €75B of the recovery funds will go to European Research Area objectives
Lisbon crowned European capital of innovation for 2023
Maria Leptin’s perspectives on university challenges and innovation
EU’s Industrial R&D Scoreboard updates
INESC News
RTP3 features INOV’s AI-integrated inspection system in RiaStone production
APPRAISE system: INOV contributes to enhancing security in public spaces through innovative technology
INESC TEC collaborates on a European project that promotes the use of algae in sustainable aquaculture
INESC TEC’s podcast among the nominees for a national award
Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »

24/11/2023 – EU’s decarbonization push, INESC participates in Portugal’s Blockchain initiative, Horizon Europe budget boost for R&I & much more

In today’s Morning Brief:
Funding
EU Commission to spend €186 million promoting agri-food products in and outside EU in 2024
Commission opens search for technology infrastructure expert group
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
Call for Contributions: EU-U.S. Trade & Technology Council’s first edition of AI terminology and taxonomy
Belgium to focus on a public sector European blockchain during its EU presidency
Europe still working with China on military and surveillance uses of artificial intelligence, report finds
EU launches new competition to give AI companies access to supercomputers
Energy
Plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production
Microelectronics
As microscopic materials proliferate, ensuring they are safe is a priority
Research & Innovation
European Parliament Approves 2024 EU Budget with Boost for Research and Innovation
Council approves UK’s inclusion in Horizon Europe and Copernicus Programmes
EU lagging behind on antimicrobial resistance research
Opinion article in Science Business: The European Research Area needs a reboot
EIT lauds impact of Regional Innovation Scheme in latest report
INESC News
INESC participates at BLOCKCHAIN.PT initiative
INESC MN partners up in semiconductor consortium
INESC TEC advances autonomous vehicle perception in THEIA project
The HUB hosts EARTO meeting on EU RD&I Programmes
HUB contributes at the INESC TEC Autumn Forum
Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »

17/11/2023 – Horizon Europe latest calls, the €85M boost next year to reach €12.9B, the approval of the Critical Raw Materials Act & much more

In today’s Morning Brief:
Funding
Horizon: €290M in funding for digital, industry and space
ERC sees rise in Starting Grant applications
Artificial Intelligence
OECD updates definition of Artificial Intelligence ‘to inform EU’s AI Act’
Study highlights AI’s economic potential amid EU regulatory focus
Energy
EU Atlantic strategy: what’s next?
Bioengineering
How can regenerative agriculture help the food system survive?
Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems” launch event conclusions
Research & Innovation
Horizon Europe: €12.9 Billion Boost in 2024 Budget
Commission welcomes political agreement on the Critical Raw Materials Act
Paper: How regional innovation ecosystems can improve participation in the European Framework Programme for R&I
European Space Agency looks to private sector to stay competitive
Technology readiness levels are getting a reality check to ensure innovations are socially acceptable
Research Management initiative advances strategic capacities in European research organisations
INESC News
Carla Gonçalves of INESC TEC recognized among Portugal’s green visionaries
Bactometer project secures runner-up position in EIT Health
Artificial Intelligence and humans collaborate to enhance critical infrastructure security
Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »