Science and innovation are a central priority for the European Union with the current research framework, Horizon 2020, allocating almost €80 billion to research and innovation over seven years, until 2021. It appears that policymakers are currently happy with this investment as they are looking to increase research and innovation spending to at least €100 billion in the next research funding fram ...[Read More]
A major re-organisation of the European Commission’s Research and Innovation Directorate General is scheduled to take place this year with a goal to revise staff reporting procedures and increased coordination between the agencies. While improved coordination may be of benefit in some areas, concerns have been raised about the potential impact these changes may have on the European Research Counci ...[Read More]
The European Parliament currently has 751 members who belong to one of the eight political groups, at least one of the 20 different committees and represent approximately 500 million people from the 28 EU Member States. The EU Parliament plays an extremely important role in the EU. It oversees the EU budget, launches investigations into specific issues and shares legislative powers with the Counci ...[Read More]
Earlier this month, the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24), was held in Katowice, Poland. COPs are held annually and provide world leaders, policy workers, scientists and industry leaders with the opportunity to negotiate and determine how best to tackle climate change and reduce emissions on a global level. With so much at stake, these negotiations can be tense. Some COPs see more action tha ...[Read More]
On Wednesday 28 November 2018, the European Commission adopted a strategic long-term vision for a climate neutral economy (net-zero emissions) by 2050! A Clean Planet for All, tactically released ahead of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24), which will be hosted in Katowice, Poland from 2-14 December, describes seven overarching areas that require action and eight different scenarios that ...[Read More]
What is the bioeconomy? Global threats such as climate change, ocean acidification, land degradation and an ever-expanding population means that it’s essential for us to reduce our environmental impact while still meetings our demand for food, resources and energy. The bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources and their functions including renewable biological re ...[Read More]
For the last few months the EGU has been working towards both hosting a dinner debate in Brussels, Belgium, and publishing the Horizon 2020 Geoscience Survey Report which was based on a survey conducted within the geoscience community earlier this year. Both of these endeavours were undertaken together with the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) and had similar aims: to enhance collaboration ...[Read More]
This blog post features an interview with Petra Fagerholm who is currently leading the team on public relations and outreach in the communications department of the European Environment Agency (EEA). Petra gave a presentation about the EEA during the Science for Policy short course at the 2018 EGU General Assembly. In this interview, Petra describes her career path, what it is like to work at the ...[Read More]
The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), the largest interdisciplinary science meeting in Europe, was held earlier this month in Toulouse, France and attracted scientists and policymakers from across the globe. Held every second year, ESOF provides an interface between science, policy and society. This year was my first ESOF. I attended as the EGU Policy Officer and was able to actively participate in a ...[Read More]
What is the land use and forestry regulation? In October 2014, the EU agreed that all sectors, including land and forestry, should contribute to the EU’s 2030 climate & energy framework target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Almost 4 years later, in May 2018, the EU Commission’s proposal for the 2021-2030 land use and forestry regulatio ...[Read More]