Exploring the Water-Energy Nexus Publication of the final report for the Assessment

The final report for the Assessment and Communication of Relevant EU-funded Projects Supporting the Market Uptake of Energy Efficiency Measures in Industry and Services prepared by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has been published.

The report evaluates the impact of 41 projects receiving funding from the Intelligent Energy-Europe II (IEE-II) programme (2007-2013) and the Energy Efficiency calls within the Horizon 2020 programme (2014-2020). To learn more about this project and the results obtained please click here. The final report for the Assessment and Communication of Relevant EU-funded Projects Supporting the Market Uptake of Energy Efficiency Measures in Industry and Services can be seen here.

First Calls for Proposals of LIFE 2021-2027 launched

On 13 July, the first LIFE Call for Proposals opened under the new LIFE programme 2021-2027, which comprises four sub-programmes: nature & biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the clean energy transition. This first LIFE Call for Proposals 2021 offers a budget of over 580€ million to fund new projects.

The conservation of nature and biodiversity, including water ecosystems, remains a decisive area of action for the LIFE Program. A new type of projects, strategic nature projects, are introduced to support programmes of action in the Member States for the mainstreaming of nature and biodiversity policy objectives into other EU policies and to ensure that relevant funds are leveraged to implement these objectives. 

Moreover, the LIFE programme 2021 – 2027 continues its substantial support to projects related to the implementation of air and water quality plans and legislation at a local, regional, national and trans-national level. 

For more information, please contact Andrea Rubini

New EU Report ‘Water in the Circular Economy policy development’: how projects can contribute to EU legislation

During the Water Knowledge Europe 2021 Spring edition, held in March 2021, Water Europe, together with EASME and NextGen project organized the workshop on ‘Water in the Circular Economy policy development’ within the context of Water Projects Europe event.

The workshop session took place on 26 March 2021 and it was hosted by Andrea Rubini (WE), Violeta Kuzmickaite (EASME) and Jos Frijns (NextGen). In the 3rd edition Water Projects Europe, water experts and policy makers discussed the governance challenges in the transition towards circular water solutions. The six Horizon 2020-projects projects participated in the workshop were: 

– Water2Return
– Run4Life
– NextGen
– HYDROUSA
– Project Ô
– ULTIMATE

Experts the aforementioned projects on Water in the context of the Circular Economy reviewed with EU policy-makers relevant regulations, such as the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and Sewage Sludge Directive. They exchanged information and best practices to achieve Water Smart-Society. 

Based on the outcomes of Water Projects Europe, the European Commission published the ‘Water in the Circular Economy policy development’ Report presenting not only the topics discussed but also several recommendations derived from the Horizon 2020–projects. Discover more in the full report.

‘The Human Behavior Experiments’: What can be done to improve the farmers’ green practices?

The new study published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), “Farmers and the new green architecture of the EU common agricultural policy: a behavioural experiment” shows how the choices’ farmers to adopt voluntary green practices are affected by how much they are already obliged to contribute to the environment.

For this study 600 farmers from Germany, Spain and Poland took part in a behavioural experiment. The study’s result found that:

– the more mandatory requirements placed on farmers, the less likely they are to make additional voluntary contributions;
– if the mandatory requirements are ambitious enough, the positive impact on the environment more than offsets the drop in voluntary actions.
– for voluntary practices, the higher the level of direct payments farmers receive, the more likely they are to take up such green activities.

Behavioural science is a relatively new approach to understanding agricultural policy in the EU, which has traditionally relied on modelling and other analysis to pre-test the impact of different policy options.

These new behavioural insights help enhance the knowledge base, which in turn helps design policies that maximise the impact of the payments they receive on the positive contribution of farmers to the environment. For example, in the provisional political agreement on the new CAP, EU Member States are asked to prepare strategic plans to implement the policy over the next five years. Behavioural insights are one tool that can help them do that effectively.

Water Knowledge Europe Summer Edition has concluded!

The special summer edition of Water Knowledge Europe 2021 event has concluded! We have definitely learnt a lot today. Having identified at least 100 calls with great potential for water, today’s event allowed us to dive deep into the new Horizon Europe Programme and benefit from its opportunities.

A great line-up of speakers from the European Commission not only gave a thorough overview of the new programme and presented the relevant HEU Clusters, Partnerships and Initiatives.

Writing a project proposal might be challenging, so Marta de Diego gave us an informative presentation on the tips and tricks for preparing a successful project proposal.

We also had with us our projects Innovative WAter recoverY Solutions, ULTIMATE Water EU and B-WaterSmart Project that revealed their reasons of success and their suggested paths for turning your project proposal into a winning case.

Don’t forget that you can still book your B2B virtual meeting and meet potential projects’ partners! By registering today, you will still receive the event’s recording, in case you missed it.

Have your say to improve European communication on science research and innovation

How can we integrate water across sectors, stakeholders and scales?

The European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) published a new report “Water and Beyond”  to contribute towards efforts to achieve global sustainable development objectives by integrating water-and-sanitation-related interventions into multi-sector strategies and programmes designed for partner countries and regions.

The document first introduces the policy context for water and sanitation, and how action in these areas is essential for achieving globally agreed sustainable development objectives and EU policy priorities. It then considers how water and sanitation can support priorities for EU external action:

⇒ the European Green Deal;
⇒ digital;
⇒ science and technology;
⇒ sustainable growth
⇒ jobs;
⇒ migration partnerships;
⇒ governance, peace and security;
⇒ human development.

In each case, the document sets out opportunities, challenges and examples of operational strategies. This publication charts a course for EU international partnerships on water, identifying not just what a ‘water and beyond’ approach entails, but how it can be achieved. Check the full report here.

Slovenia takes over the EU Presidency with water at the center of development and humanitarian aids

On 1 July 2021, Slovenia took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time since 2008. During a six-month period, the country will lead the work of the Council, building cooperation and agreement between the member states.

Alongside with Germany and Portugal, Slovenia’s Presidency have drafted a programme for one of the most difficult periods in EU’s history. Under the slogan “Together. Resistant. Europe”, the six-month programme is structured in four priority areas with the aim of “work for the EU’s recovery and resilience, reflection on the future of Europe, strengthening the rule of law and European values, and security and stability in the European neighbourhood.”

The main priorities are:

◊ Resilience, recovery and strategic autonomy of the EU (incl. cyberattacks, making European infrastructure more resilient, Fit for 55, circular economy, digitalisation implementing recovery and resilience plans is a priority of the Slovenian Presidency);

◊ Conference on the future of Europe;

◊ A Union of the European way of life, the rule of law and equal criteria for all;

◊ A credible and secure EU, capable of ensuring security and stability in its neighborhood.

Is water mentioned in Slovenia’s new programme?

⇒ Research and space: will promote the use of space infrastructure in policy areas such as agriculture, environment, water management, forestry, migration, telecommunications, and natural disaster response

⇒ Development and humanitarian aid: Water will be a central thematic priority of EU external action in the field of development and humanitarian activities. The Slovenian Presidency will advocate a comprehensive approach to water.

Source of the image: Balkan Insight.

Water Europe Annual Report 2020-2021 is out!

We are proud to present you our 2020-2021 Annual Report launched officially during the Water Innovation Europe 2021 conference! Our annual report will guide you through our Water Europe’s journey from June 2020 to June 2021.

In the report, you can find all the activities of each Water Europe programme, together with facts and figures about our developments. Our Water Europe Vice-Presidents also present their priorities and actions towards building a Water-Smart Society. Once again, we have designed an online version of the report for a highly visual and interactive experience, that you will find easy to explore and share with your networks.

This report is a real demonstration of how stronger we emerged from the COVID19 challenge and how, thanks to our committed network of members, ambassadors and collaborators, we turned adversity into opportunity for us and our community. We invite you to explore our 2020-2021 report and hope you enjoy this digital experience!

Download the PDF version or explore the digital report here.

CoR members collaborate to reinforce disaster preparedness and resilience of critical entities

During its plenary session on 1 July, the European Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) discussed the role of cities and regions in reinforcing the resilience of critical entities.

Critical entities are operators of infrastructures that are essential for the functioning of our society and economy. Although the bulk of legislation in this field is set at EU or national level, local and regional authorities best know the territory and have major responsibilities protecting the areas in which critical infrastructures are located.

While the presence of critical infrastructure provides an opportunity for local development, it also poses a risk in the event of a disaster, with potentially serious impact on local communities, the environment and the economy.

 ” It is imperative that critical infrastructures are adequately protected against a wide spectrum of threats, be they natural or man-made, unintentional or with malicious intent. Critical entities must be resilient wherever and whenever disruptions appear. ” stated Mario Guarente, Mayor of Potenza and rapporteur of the opinion on the Resilience of Critical Entities.

Local leaders welcome the fact that the scope of the proposed directive has been substantially extended to cover energy, transport, health, drinking water, wastewater, digital infrastructure, public administration and space. As resilience concerns all levels of governance, coordination and good multilevel cross-sector collaboration for disaster preparedness, risk reduction and reinforcing resilience is crucial.