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It’s the beginning of a new week! In today’s Morning Brief we bring you information on COP26 which starts right at the end of this week, key lessons for phasing out CO2 from the IEA and a public consultation on end-of-life vehicles!

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:

COP26 and Forestry Research

The protection of forests will be high on the agenda at this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow, where world nations are expected to come forward with more ambitious climate goals. EuraActiv will be accompanying and reporting on the COP26 summit and Science Business offered an article focused on the research dimension, check it here. The key takeaway, even if it seems obvious is still heavily unaddressed, according to the European Forestry Institute and the Forest based Sector Technology Platform. The article from SB states that the EU’s forests would benefit from better knowledge translation and closer links between wood production and biodiversity research and innovation.

“The challenge is bringing down the knowledge and understanding at European level to more regional decision making,” said Marcus Lindner, principle scientist for the resilience programme at the EU’s European Forest Institute (EFI). Industry echoes the concerns about knowledge translation. When it comes to R&D, the EU forest strategy “does not recognise the realities on the ground,” said Johan Elvnert, managing director of the Forest-based Sector Technology Platform, a pan-European network of experts that aim to bring national innovation priorities to the EU level.

 

Parliament approval of the European Partnerships

As previously reported, now member states need to give the final green light, allowing nine public-private partnership in digital, health and climate to get off the ground, it is important to note that the race towards finalizing the Partnerships SRIAs – Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas will be heavily accelerated. Parliament’s goal is to ensure effective spending of the €22 billion budget for the nine so-called joint undertakings, of which €10 billion will come from the EU research programme, Horizon Europe. You can read here the full report drawn by Maria da Graça Carvalho (EP’s rapporteur on PPPs).

Key lessons for phasing out CO2 – emitting coal plant from electricity sectors

Coal power plants are the largest source of electricity generation and the largest single source of energy-related CO2 emissions, presenting a major challenge for governments seeking a path to energy systems with net zero emissions while maintaining secure and affordable energy.

A dramatic reduction in unabated coal use is an essential feature of all scenarios that meet global climate goals, but phasing out coal can also raise challenges in terms of energy affordability, impacts on communities and security of electricity supply. Rapid and successful transitions require that these challenges are carefully managed by policymakers.

Don’t miss this in-depth analysis by the International Energy Organization here featuring six key recommendation for pursuing coal power phase-outs and potential roles for carbon capture and low-carbon fuels.

 

Foresight in support of the EU Missions

The mission approach aims to combine and direct different resources and actors towards a common goal. In a world of increasing global challenges, missions are becoming a key element of transformative R&I policy.

The Commission has launched five EU missions that are a new instrument under Horizon Europe to deliver solutions to key global challenges by 2030. The launch of these EU Missions has followed the advice of the Mission Boards.

Strategic Foresight in the European Commission uses the expertise of Europe’s Research Community, including the Joint Research Centre, to strengthen the preparedness of EU institutions and policies for alternative future scenarios. Foresight and future-oriented R&I are important in Horizon Europe.

Learn more here.

 

Council to push back against Parliament’s call for budget increases in 2022

Slovenian presidency warns MEPs that member states will not agree to Parliament’s proposed €305M increase for Horizon Europe and €137M for Erasmus+. The European Parliament has voted through a budget proposal for 2022 that would see slight increases for research and education in Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, but with member states set on pursuing cuts they agreed in July, the prospects of more money materialising are dim. The European Commission has proposed spending nearly €12.2 billion from the seven-year Horizon Europe research programme during 2022. However, member states argue there is not enough demand for this level of investment and have proposed a cut of €316 million, saying expenditure should be backloaded to the end of Horizon Europe, which will run until 2027.

Research associations and MEPs strongly oppose the Council cut at a time when the EU is struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament’s draft budget adds €305 million to Horizon Europe over the level proposed by the European Commission. MEPs reversed most cuts made by the Council and thereby restored the draft budget to the level originally proposed by the Commission. The Parliament’s budget proposal includes increased funding for programmes which MEPs see as contributing to EU’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the €305 million hike proposed for Horizon Europe, MEPs want €137 million on top of the Commission’s proposal to fund an additional 40,000 education exchanges in the Erasmus+ programme. Also, MEPs have proposed an extra €207 million for the Connecting Europe Facility, which funds sustainable transport, energy and digital networks, and €171 million for the environment and climate action LIFE programme. EU4Health has also been given a €80 million boost.

The Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU has warned MEPs that member states will not accept these increases. Read the full article here.

 

EC Innovation Radar Prize includes recycling, organ-on-chip and cybersecurity solutions

Finnish biotech MetGen has been announced this year’s winner of the Innovation Radar Prize, the European Commission’s award for innovations emerging from EU-funded R&I projects. The winning company produces a sustainable bio-based additive for fibre-based cardboard packaging which makes the material stronger and more resistant to moisture. Three more prizes were awarded in sustainability, health and disruptive innovation categories. C2CA Technology from the Netherlands received the green award for a patented system for recycling construction materials. In the health category, React4Life from Italy was awarded for a organ-on-a-chip solution that supports development of personalised drugs, while a Czech company Kypo won a prize for its disruptive open source cybersecurity training platform.

More Articles

26/05/2023: New Horizon Europe calls, a global drive for open science, European Commission DG RTD recent reorganisation, EU-China & much more

In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Twinning call for proposals is open – Read all about it
– Horizon Europe ERA Fellowships call is now open
– EUR 20 million available for Pathways to synergies – Call for proposals
– New Horizon Europe funding opportunity: Dissemination & Exploitation Support Facility call
– Commission Open Call: Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe
– Industry 5.0 Award contest opens: apply by 1 September 2023
– Horizon Europe: The EU and the Republic of Korea launch formal negotiations on association to the programme
– European Space Agency chief seeks ‘forward-looking decisions’
Research & Innovation:
– EU research ministers make fresh call for a full transition to free open access publishing
– Open Science: stakeholders welcome European efforts towards publicly owned and not-for-profit scholarly communication
– Global drive for more open, rigorous research is growing
– European Commission sets up new European Innovation Council unit in the research directorate
– Spain wants EU presidency to be ‘bridge’ with Latin American R&D
– Green industry law haunted by old conflicts over nuclear, financing
– The five EU research projects involving China’s military-linked universities
– Critical Raw Materials: EU ministers want to move fast but dilemmas abound
– G7 ministers call for rules to improve research security
– Territorial Economic Data viewer supports policy monitoring
News from INESC institutes:
– INESC Brussels HUB is signing an Open Letter regarding changes to Who is Who in EC Directorate
– ECI Cruelty-free cosmetics – Consultation to adhere to joint final statement
– Structuring the ecosystem: RTOs collaboration with higher education institutions
– INESC TEC develops pioneering research in the application of variational quantum circuits to reinforcement learning
– INOV: MULTICAM prototypes, an online presentation on Blockchain and 5000 followers
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »

19/05/2023: HUB Summer Meeting, Digital Europe Programme, Regional Innovation Valleys, European R&I funding and policy, and much more

In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Commission Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe
– Commission launches first €122M call to create regional innovation ecosystems
– New calls for proposals of the Digital Europe Programme
Research & Innovation:
– EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel resigns
– France to boost funding for health research infrastructures and UK to invest £100M in improving RIs
– Commission takes European Innovation Council management under its wing
– Industry 5.0 Award: The contest is open for applications
– AI Act moves ahead in EU Parliament with key committee vote
– Defence industry renews call for R&D spending boost
News from INESC institutes:
– Technology and Law: building a virtuous relationship, by Graça Barbosa
– The 2022 INESC-ID AnnualReport is out
– Exciting news from H2020-RESCUER
– Launch of the New Horizon Europe Project SYCLOPS
– INESC TEC supports the implementation of robotic technologies to reduce the ecological footprint
– INESC TEC develops virtual reality app to support youngster looking for jobs
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »

05/05/2023: HE calls update, cohesion policy, open access, open science, cohesion policy and coordination of national and EU R&D policy.

In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Horizon Europe – easy call and topic search
– From KOWI: MSCA: Model Working Contract for Doctoral Networks published
Research & Innovation:
– Report on the outcome of 2021-2027 cohesion policy programming
– Spain adopts national open access strategy
– Commission attempts to strengthen coordination between national R&D policies and EU research programs
– Commission Plans to launch a European Standardisation Panel survey
– Research funders draw attention to uneven implementation of open science
– EIT Climate to become financially sustainable by end of 2024
– Preparing for Belgium’s Thirteenth Presidency of the Council of the European Union
– African Union-European Union High Level Policy Dialogue – Science, Technology and Innovation. Senior official meet to endorse the AU-EU Innovation Agenda
News from INESC institutes:
– INESC MN has a new publication in Advanced Materials Journal
– INOV projects on Youtube
– Diogo Vaz published an article in Público
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops

Read More »