Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to Europe and the world. To overcome these challenges, Europe needs a new growth strategy that transforms the Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, economic growth is decoupled from resource use and no person and no place is left behind.
This strategy was announced in December 2019 as the European Green Deal, which provides a roadmap with actions to:
- boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy
- restore biodiversity and cut pollution.
Communication form the Commission – European Green Deal [EN and PL display versions]
The EU will be climate neutral in 2050. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to modernise the EU’s economy and society and re-orient them towards a just and sustainable future. Reaching this target will require a broad spectrum of actions. Research and innovation will play a central role in it by:
- accelerating and navigating the necessary transitions,
- deploying, demonstrating and de-risking solutions,
- engaging citizens in social Innovation.
There are several policy areas of the EU Green Deal:
- Climate action – making the EU climate neutral by 2050
- Biodiversity – measures to protect our fragile ecosystem
- Eliminating pollution – measures to cut pollution rapidly and efficiently
- From Farm to Fork – ways to ensure more sustainable food systems
- Sustainable agriculture – sustainability in EU agriculture and rural areas thanks to the common agricultural policy (CAP)
- Clean energy – opportunities for alternative, cleaner sources of energy
- Sustainable industry – ways to ensure more sustainable, more environmentally-respectful production cycles
- Building and renovating – the need for a cleaner construction sector
- Sustainable mobility – promoting more sustainable means of transport
Green Deal Call under Horizon 2020
To respond to the urgency and ambition of the European Green Deal objectives, Horizon 2020 will support additional Green Deal related research and innovation with a call worth close to €1 billion.
The Green Deal Call (GDC) will mobilise research and innovation to foster a just and sustainable societal transition aiming at ‘leaving nobody behind’. Projects are expected to deliver tangible and visible results relatively quickly and show how research and innovation can provide concrete solutions for the EU Green Deal main priorities.
The call will support:
- pilot applications, demonstration projects and innovative products,
- innovation for better governance of the green and digital transition,
- social and value chain innovation.
In addition to technological development and demonstration, the call encourages experimentation and social innovation for new ways to engage civil society and empower citizens.
The call contains 11 areas:
- Eight thematic areas reflecting the key work streams of the European Green Deal. In each area, one or more topics addresses the challenges outlined in the respective policy stream. Topics target specific, high-impact technological and societal innovations that can help advance the sustainable transition relatively quickly.
- Three horizontal areas (strengthening knowledge; empowering citizens; and international cooperation) that cut across the eight thematic areas and offer a longer-term perspective in achieving the transformations set out in the European Green Deal.
A stakeholder feedback survey on the call areas ran from 19 May to 3 June, with almost 6000 survey responses and 500 documents were uploaded. Results of the survey are available on the call webpage, where
Most importantly, on the above website – divided into 11 thematic areas – you can now download the draft text of the competition call, along with EC slides discussing individual topics.
DISCLAIMER – The presentation of draft topics and the feedback provided shall in under no circumstances bind the European Commission in the final formulation of topics for the call. The binding call text will be published following the formal decision by the European Commission on the Funding and tender opportunities portal.
Call timeline:
- mid-September 2020 – formal adoption of Green Deal call as amendment to Horizon 2020 work programme 2018-20
- mid-September 2020 – publication and opening of the call
- 22-24 September 2020 – opportunity to find potential project partners at the EU R&I Days
- end January 2021 – deadline for submitting project proposals.
Based on the above materials, it is already worth considering participation in the GDC competition and thus start working on the preparation of the application, including the search for potential international partners. PolSCA cordially invites representatives of the national scientific community – in particular representatives of the Polish Academy of Sciences – interested in the call to contact our team!
If you want to receive similar information and to be regularly updated via PolSCA Office, subscribe to our newsletter!
Published: 2020-06-08
Author: T. Poprawka
