Reinforcing science policy support with IPBES and IPCC for better interconnected biodiversity and climate policies

In line with the Commission’s priority 'A stronger Europe in the world', the European Union must take and demonstrate leadership in this field, notably by increasing its support to the EU and global biodiversity knowledge centres[[The EU Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity is available at https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/biodiversity_en.]] and to IPBES – and to elevate it to the same level as the IPCC.

• Besides economic support, this also includes networking efforts to reinforce synergies and cooperation of the work of EU services, scientists and practitioners with CBD, IPBES, regional Multilateral Environmental Agreements, UN organisations and programmes, and other relevant research communities to underpin the implementation, monitoring and review of the post 2020 global biodiversity framework.
• This action delivers targeted support to areas of specific interest for European research policy by using as well as contributing to IPBES outputs. It also helps European scientists, in particular those from southern, central and eastern EU countries, and those from the Western Balkans, Central Asia, and from Africa[[Europe and Central Asia form one region for IPBES purposes. Cooperation with Africa is a priority for the policy agenda of the European Union.]], who remain underrepresented, due to a lack of capacity to participate in meetings, networking or science input at global level, to play their role by contributing to EU and global regular assessments (EU ecosystem assessment, IPBES global assessments, Gap and Stocktake Reports, global biodiversity outlook). Major functions of IPBES still need to be further developed to achieve a proper level of uptake in Europe: knowledge generation, policy support and capacity building functions, including the task forces.

The project should cover all of the following points:

• providing assistance to the EU and Associated Countries, to central Asian and to African scientists, knowledge holders and local communities for reinforcing the input into the EU and global biodiversity knowledge centres, IPBES and IPCC on biodiversity;
• translating IPBES and other relevant research outputs for policy and decision-making into a language targeted to a wider readership by the EU public, interest groups, research and innovation projects, policy makers and businesses, and into (a set of) EU languages;
• networking and facilitating synergies through cooperation between IPBES, IPCC and amongst scientists and relevant scientific bodies of other regional Multilateral Environment Agreements, such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Air Convention;
• proposing standards for EU-funded biodiversity projects to apply the relevant outcomes of the IPBES data and knowledge task force;
• supporting European negotiators at IPBES plenary meetings and inter-sessional work as well as at the scientific body meetings of CBD and other biodiversity-related MEAs of relevance to IPBES. This includes back-office support to the EU IPBES and IPCC negotiation teams and to delegations of Member States and Associated Countries in need of assistance in synthesizing scientific evidence of relevance for IPBES and IPCC plenary work.

The project should detail a plan on how the work can be further financed and governed over the medium- and long-term and secure commitments that enable the work to continue after the funding of this topic ends.

Proposals should not develop any new platforms but ensure that all relevant evidence, data and information is accessible through e.g. the Oppla portal and cooperate with existing networks of national platforms[[ The network of national platforms in Europe & Central Asia for the IPBES, http:\\www.ipbes.eu.]]. They should also prepare the inclusion of their results in the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity, hosted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), according to an agreed format, and cooperate with the Science Service project ‘Bio-Agora’.

The project is to set a clear plan on how it will collaborate with other projects selected under related topics of the Cluster 6 Work Programmes 2021-245, and with the Biodiversity Partnership Biodiversa+. This includes links to ESFRI research infrastructures, to test whether they could host predictive models, visualization and analysis of their platform's early warning systems, to respond to IPBES and IPCC assessments and to CBD requests, by participating in joint activities such as workshops, scientific deliverables, or joint communication and dissemination measures. Proposals should include dedicated tasks and allocate sufficient resources for coordination measures and indicate the necessary flexibility to react to requests stemming from future IPBES and IPCC work programme development.

Proposals should involve the contribution from the social sciences and humanities disciplines.