ERA-NET for Monitoring and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases from Agri- and Silvi-Culture

Project Information

ERA-GAS

Grant agreement ID: 696356

DOI

10.3030/696356

Project closed

EC signature date 1 February 2016

Start date 1 May 2016

End date 30 April 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 15 151 516,00

EU contribution

€ 5 000 000,00

Coordinated by

TEAGASC - AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ERA-GAS (ERA-NET for Monitoring and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases from Agri- and Silvi-Culture)

Reporting period: 2019-05-01 to 2022-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The agricultural sector in Europe faces significant challenges in curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while maintaining food security and sustainability in a changing climate. Projected increases in the world’s population and a shift in emerging countries towards higher consumption of resource-intensive food items will require almost 50% more food, feed and biofuel in 2050 than in 2012, according to the FAO. This will necessitate the development of innovative farming and forestry systems that ensure sustainability while increasing productivity.

To address this grand challenge, a coordinated international approach is needed. FACCE ERA-GAS is the ERA-NET Cofund for Monitoring and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases from Agri- and Silviculture. The FACCE ERA-GAS consortium comprises funding agencies and project partners from 19 organisations across 13 European countries. Our aim is to strengthen the transnational coordination of research programmes in the EU and provide added value to research and innovation on GHG monitoring and mitigation.

The specific objectives of the ERA-GAS Cofund were to:
- design, coordinate and implement a joint co-funded call aimed at improved monitoring and mitigation of agricultural and forestry GHGs in Europe
- enhance R&I capacity in the area of GHG mitigation by promoting cooperation and coordination across nations
- organise further joint activities, including at least one joint call, without EU co-funding
- establish new networking structures and reinforce existing partnerships focussed on GHG mitigation in the sector
- reduce fragmentation and duplication of research activities and identify international best practices
- develop enabling technologies and innovative solutions to improve inventories, increase the GHG efficiency of food, feed and fuel production and enhance carbon sinks
- promote the systematic exchange of knowledge between multidisciplinary R&I actors and increase engagement with stakeholder communities

FACCE ERA-GAS was a very successful public-public partnership. Through three joint calls, three Research Programme Meetings (RPMs) and a portfolio of other additional activities, the aim to strengthen the transnational coordination of national research programmes in Europe and beyond was achieved. The funded project consortia were multinational and multidisciplinary, connecting competences and building capacities, thus reducing duplication and fragmentation of R&I. Valuable benefits were realised from the involvement of third countries and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural GHGs (GRA) in FACCE ERA-GAS activities, broadening the impact from a European to a global scale.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Over the project lifetime, many significant results and outcomes were realised, leading to the expectation of important potential impacts from the ERA-NET.

FACCE ERA-GAS has brought funding agencies together from across Europe and the world to pool national money to fund transnational projects in the area of GHG mitigation and monitoring in agriculture and forestry. In total, three funding calls have been implemented:
- 2016 Joint Call on monitoring & mitigation of GHGs from agri- and silvi-culture, co-funded by the European Commission
- 2018 Joint Call on novel technologies, solutions and systems to reduce GHG emissions in animal production systems, together with our partner ERA-NETs SusAn and ICT-AGRI 2
- 2021 Joint Call on circularity in mixed crop and livestock farming systems, with emphasis on GHG mitigation, together with ERA-NETs SusAn, ICT-AGRI-FOOD and SusCrop

In total, in excess of €37M of funding that would ordinarily be allocated through national calls to national/regional projects has been committed to fund 27 projects under these three calls. 41 funders including one global network, the GRA, were mobilised to make funding available in 70 countries worldwide, representing a significant expansion of both the network of funders and funded researchers.

Many further activities apart from funding calls (and their associated scoping workshops and call steering committee meetings) were implemented, including:
- Three RPMs to showcase and network the 2016 Joint Call projects and explore what key learnings they might have for policy, research and practice
- Communication & dissemination of the results and activities of the ERA-NET and its funded projects
- Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of the 2016 Joint Call projects
- A Summer School and GHG Breakfast Clubs for early-career researchers
- Development of a short and long-term strategy for agricultural and forestry GHG monitoring & mitigation
- Kick-off meetings, a mid-term seminar and project networking events for the funded projects
- FACCE ERA-GAS Stakeholder-led Workshop on “R&I for transformative change: co-delivering on the 2030 climate targets"

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

There is an urgent requirement for action across the EU in order for climate-neutrality to be achieved by 2050. Agriculture and forestry are two sectors where significant efforts will be needed to reduce GHG emissions and enhance carbon sinks, taking into account the biological complexity of these systems. International cooperation and leadership in the area of GHG mitigation is of paramount importance in addressing such an immense shared challenge, as is investment in R&I to advance science innovations, mobilise actors and move towards implementation of solutions.

FACCE ERA-GAS has gone beyond the state-of-the-art by implementing three joint research calls worth in excess of €37M, in cooperation with its partner ERA-NETs. As a result, fragmentation of R&I in the area has been reduced at three levels:
- Between European countries, through the pooling of national funds and implementation of transnational research projects,
- Within the EU funding landscape, through the cooperation and alignment of multiple ERA-NETs to jointly organise funding calls, events and additional activities. This mobilised additional funding, allowed for larger, more impactful calls and facilitated more efficient call implementation through shared use of resources.
- Between EU and international funders, by creating a network of 41 funding organisations globally, including the GRA, to work collaboratively, identify common research priorities and fund joint transnational projects. The international dimension of the projects was a clear advantage and added further knowledge and depth to the work done.

Enhanced cooperation has reinforced existing collaborative networks of GHG research and established new harmonising activities between national programmes across Europe and globally through our international partners.

Furthermore, the European Research Area will be boosted through (i) investment in R&I for a green and digital future, (ii) support for career progression among early-career researchers through the Summer School and GHG Breakfast Clubs, (iii) promotion of gender equality and diversity through personal experiences shared by speakers at the Breakfast Clubs, (iv) fostering of open science practices through the promotion of open data and publications in funded projects.

Durable cooperation has been established among the partners and their respective national research programmes which will endure past the lifetime of the project through the partners’ commitment to a self-sustained FACCE ERA-GAS network.

Strategic Goals of the FACCE ERA-GAS ERA-NET Cofund