ERA-NET on Climate Services Roadmap: Cross-sector impact assessments (evaluation, comparison and integration)

Following the outcome of the European Workshop 'Towards a European Market of Climate Services' (18th March, 2014), a European Roadmap for Climate services has been prepared by an independent group of experts and presented in a subsequent European Conference on 17th March 2015. The Roadmap identifies a series of challenges and specific actions that need to be undertaken by various actors in Europe, in order to strengthen the European market of climate services. In the Horizon 2020 Work Programme of 2015 an ERA-NET Cofund action was already launched with the JPI Climate for developing scientific advances in support of climate services, involving mandated governmental research centres in the design of co-aligned actions. The challenge is to support the implementation of the Roadmap, building upon the layer of activities already launched, in order to support knowledge-based decision making, both in the public and private sector, to avoid risks and seize opportunities towards sustainable development. This requires cross-sectoral and robust impact assessments that nest climate change information into others socio-economic changes, as well as taken into account adaptation policies to reduce vulnerabilities and increase resilience in future.

Scope

The action will support the implementation of the roadmap for climate services and align actions of the various national entities of Member States and Associated Countries active in climate services and climate research by developing, evaluating, and integrating impact assessments, methodologies, and models while adding to the development of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP). It requires transdisciplinary research – co-designed with key stakeholders – across key economic/societal sectors, including food, water, energy, health, finance, investment, equity and security. This action should be implemented through a close cooperation with Member States grouped around the JPI Climate, should take into account relevant actions already carried out in the first Horizon 2020 programming cycle and within other relevant JPIs, and should benefit from cooperation with advanced programmes and projects on climate regional modelling and knowledge gaps, such as the one foreseen in this work programme for 2016 (SC5-2, SC5-3). Furthermore, in line with the strategy for EU international cooperation in research and innovation (COM(2012)497), it should open cooperation at international level with other key initiatives such as the Belmont Forum or at regional level in Latin America and/or Africa.

The proposal should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing a joint call for proposals with EU co-funding resulting in grants to third parties. The proposal may include, in addition, publicly-funded research performing organisations that will contribute with their own resources (in-kind contributions from their institutional funding). In this case the joint call should include a separate topic for the participating research performing organisations. They will carry out the transnational projects resulting from this topic themselves. Their participation in the ERA-NET Cofund action must be mandated by the national/regional authorities in charge (normally the responsible Ministry).

Proposals should include other joint activities including additional joint calls without EU co-funding, while demonstrating at the same time that activities exclude any contextual or financial overlaps with related ongoing actions co-funded by the EC. Cooperation and coordination with other ERA-NETs and/or JPIs to increase synergies on cross-cutting issues, where appropriate, is encouraged.

Participation of legal entities from international partner countries and/or regions, including from Belmont Forum members and/or Latin America or Africa, is encouraged in the joint call as well as in other joint activities including additional joint calls without EU co-funding. Participants from countries which are not automatically eligible for funding may nonetheless request a Union contribution (on the basis of the ERA-NET unit cost) for the co-ordination costs of additional activities.

The Commission considers that a proposal requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of EUR 13 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact

The results of the projects launched through this ERA-NET are expected to:

• substantially increase the capability of quantifying the impacts of climate change at local/regional level in a cross sectoral risk-assessment framework including better quantification of uncertainties;
• increase the potential of using climate impact data in operational climate services;
• increase the integration of economic and impact model assessments in support of adaptation and mitigation decisions;
• align public funding on actions in support to the development of climate services within the JPI Climate member countries and beyond, including others relevant JPIs;
• support a network of key European research performing organizations;
• strengthen international leadership of European research, in particular its contribution to the Global Framework for Climate Services (WMO-GFCS), the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (WCRP/ISI-MIP) and the Future Earth Programme, and eventually to IPCC assessments, UN-SDGs and the Belmont Forum;
• contribute to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 13 'Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts', as well as the conclusions of the COP21 Paris Agreement.

Cross-cutting Priorities

• International cooperation
• Socio-economic science and humanities
• ERA-NET