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The EU has issued a call for projects that could accelerate Europe’s climate ambitions, with funding up to €1bn available.
With the European Commission (EC) looking to increase efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, it is now launching a €1bn fund for research and innovation projects that could respond to the climate crisis and help protect Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity.
The Horizon 2020-funded European Green Deal Call is open to submissions from tomorrow (18 September), with the aim of achieving discernible results in the short to medium term, but with a perspective of long-term change.
The EC has set out eight thematic areas it is looking to fund based on the European Green Deal, which was announced last December and will work towards a carbon-neutral continent by 2050.
These include:
- Increasing climate ambition
- Clean, affordable and secure energy
- Industry for a clean and circular economy
- Energy and resource efficient buildings
- Sustainable and smart mobility
- Farm to fork
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
- Zero-pollution, toxic-free environments
‘The last and biggest call’
The deadline for submissions is 26 January next year, with the winning projects expected to start in autumn 2021.
“The €1bn European Green Deal call is the last and biggest call under Horizon 2020,” said Mariya Gabriel, EC commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth.
“With innovation at its heart, this investment will accelerate a just and sustainable transition to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. As we do not want anyone left behind in this systemic transformation, we call for specific actions to engage with citizens in novel ways and improve societal relevance and impact.”
In her first state of the union address as president of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen announced a proposal to increase the 2030 target for emission reduction to at least 55pc from the previous target of 40pc.
In response, Minister for Communications Climate Action and Environment Eamon Ryan, TD, said Ireland could “achieve the radical transformation required across our economy and society to meet the challenge of climate change” by working with the EU.
