According to the JRC Smart Grid Projects Outlook 2014[1], the majority of cooperation takes place between organisations from a limited number of Member States while 15 analysed countries (NO, CH, IE, PL, HU, SK, LT, RO, LV, HR, BG, LU, CY, EE, MT) account for less than 5 % of the R&I funds altogether.
Commercialization of advanced biofuels depends on up-scaling of the technologies. The specific challenge is to overcome the high cost and high risk of the installation of industrial plants for advanced biofuels. This challenge is in line with priorities identified in the context of the SET-Plan[1]for commercialization of advanced biofuels.
Research integrity is key to achieving excellence in research and innovation in Europe. It is widely acknowledged that research misconduct undermines the quality of research and may potentially lead to social and financial costs.
Cities struggle in their transition to implement a full circular economy model incorporating regenerative practices. There is a clear need for cities to become circular in order to alter urban consumption patterns and value chains, and to stimulate innovation, business opportunities, and job creation in both established and newly created sectors.
Under the Paris Agreement (PA), Parties of the UNFCCC have to submit and periodically update Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which represent their undertaking to pursue the objectives the Agreement. Parties have also committed to formulate and communicate their mid-century low greenhouse gas emission development strategies by 2020. The collective progress towards achieving the objectives of the PA will be periodically assessed, with the first ‘global stocktake’ envisaged to take place in 2023.
Modern information and communication technologies (ICT) have provided today’s society with a vast array of innovative capabilities to solve several challenges related to resource efficiency, climate change and sustainable development. Harnessing this technology within the water sector creates a more intelligent means of managing and protecting the planet’s water resources and lays the foundation of a water-smart society.
In recent years, India and Europe have collaborated extensively to enhance and enrich each other's technological and scientific knowledge and management capacities to cope with increasing stress on water resources. Increasing heterogeneity in the uneven distribution of water resources triggered by climate change, extreme water-related events (floods and droughts) and increasing demand due to population growth and economic development add additional stress to water, environment and food security and to the national economy.
To help mitigate the risks related to earthquakes, citizens need additional protection that goes beyond building codes and retrofitting actions. Early warning approaches and operational earthquake forecasting, which are under development, need to be seen in a Europe-wide perspective, building on improved, dense, robust and high quality seismic networks and new processing tools and activities.