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.
