2022 was an exciting GeoPolicy year with many new science for policy projects and opportunities beginning and others being restored after a 2020/2021 pause due to COVID19. In 2023, we hope to build on EGU’s current initiatives and bring you yet more opportunities to engage and get involved in European policy! This blog post will kick-off the New Year by outlining a few of the key science for policy activities that you can look forward to in the next 12 months.
EGU’s Science for Policy Hangouts will become monthly!
Throughout the second half of 2022, the EGU’s Science for Policy Hangouts have provided EGU members with an informal space to meet and chat about science for policy and related topics. Each Hangout features a different policy-related opportunity or project as a basis for the session’s discussion. In 2023, we’ll be expanding this initiative to once per month! The first Hangout for 2023 will be on Tuesday 10 January at 16:30 and discuss the key take-aways from EGU’s 2022 Science-Policy Pairing Scheme inside the European Parliament. You can already register to join this event here. Following this, a Jour fixe (regular day of the month) will be established for the rest of the year’s Hangouts. If you would like to share a policy-related opportunity or project during one of EGU’s 2023 Hangouts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via policy@egu.eu.
Expanding the EGU Science-Policy Pairing Scheme
In 2022, both the annual science for policy event and science-policy pairing scheme made a comeback after being postponed due to COVID19 restrictions. Both activities were a success and will be hosted again in 2023. This year, we are also hoping to expand the EGU’s Science-Policy Pairing Scheme to include more EGU Members and Members of the European Parliament.
Making our way out of the biodiversity crisis with science
One of the final key science-policy events in the 2022 calendar was COP15, a global conference on biodiversity that saw the establishment of the Kunming-Montreal Pact that aims to conserve 30% of Earth by the end of the decade. As outlined during the EGU-Intgroup event on ‘Supporting the EU’s Biodiversity Targets by Bridging the Science-Policy Divide, this cannot be achieved without science.
The EGU Biodiversity Task Force, which was established in 2022 and thus provided European Policymakers with key insights and recommendations on the upcoming EU Nature Restoration Law, will also aim to support this overarching global target by providing key information and evidence to policymakers who need it in 2023. You can follow the EGU Biodiversity Task Force’s activities and developments here. Suggestions and requests for biodiversity-related information can also be sent to policy@egu.eu.
Expanding the EGU Science for Policy Working Group and Policy Activities
EGU’s Science for Policy Working Group provides feedback regarding current policy activities, outlines new EGU policy proposals to be approved by the EGU Council, and highlights opportunities for the EGU to collaborate with EU institutions to contribute to the EU’s policymaking process. The EGU’s Science for Policy Working Group has recently added two new members Alfonso Acosta Gonçalves and Erika von Schneidemesser who will support the group’s activities and the development of the EGU’s new Policy Programme Strategy (to be released in April 2023). If you have an idea or project that you would like the EGU’s Science for Policy Working Group to consider, please email policy@geu.eu.
The Science for Policy Help Desk at EGU22
Science for policy news and updates
The EGU will continue to provide science for policy updates throughout 2023. In 2022, the EGU’s Science for Policy Newsletter was sent out monthly and this will be continued in 2023. You can subscribe to this newsletter here to receive monthly updates on EU-related news, science for policy opportunities, EGU activities, and European policy initiatives that require scientific input. The EGU’s monthly GeoPolicy blog posts are also published monthly, providing a deeper dive into policy initiatives, skills, and methods of engaging. EGU also shares policy-relevant papers published in EGU’s open access journals that may be of interest to policymakers and other stakeholders looking for scientific input on a particular subject.
In 2023, we will also continue to explore new ways of getting science for policy opportunities and initiatives to our EGU members! Look out for our new ‘EGU Policy’ Twitter page that will be coming soon and provide you with frequent and exciting science for policy updates!
More information about all of these initiatives will be provided throughout 2023 via the policy section of EGU’s website, EGU’s monthly Science for Policy Newsletter, during the EGU23 science for policy sessions, and on the GeoPolicy blog. We’re always looking for more ways to help our members engage with the science-policy interface! If you have a science for policy idea or activity that you would like the EGU to engage, please don’t hesitate to let us know or give us feedback via policy@egu.eu.
