Irish researchers for Climate Action secure €12.9m in EU funding over 3 years

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports and encourages the participation of the Irish Research Community under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for research and innovation. The EPA today congratulates successful Irish researchers who have secured competitive funding of €12.9 million from the Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials (Climate Action) sub-programme of Horizon 2020. Under this sub-programme, 41 researchers working on a variety of climate-related projects in Ireland have been successful in their applications to receive funding for their work.  Between 2014 and February 2017, 200 applicants from Ireland submitted a total of 144 proposals seeking highly sought after EU research funding from the Climate Action Horizon 2020 sub-programme.

A recent statement from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has welcomed Ireland’s continued success in winning EU funding for Research and Innovation.  Researchers and companies in Ireland won €386 million in funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme between 2014 to February 2017.

While the Climate Action sub-programme accounts for just four per cent of the total Horizon 2020 budget (€3 billion), the EPA highlights the relevance of Sustainable Development and Climate Research across all the various programmes and sub-programmes of Horizon 2020.

Dr Alice Wemaere, EPA research manager and National Delegate and Contact Point for Climate Action in Ireland said,

“As well as providing national funding, the EPA promotes international funding and collaborative opportunities as a means of generating high quality, relevant research that can inform policy and develop solutions to protect and improve the natural environment, health and wellbeing. In the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, opportunities for environmental researchers can be found all across Horizon 2020 programmes and sub-programmes. The EC Horizon 2020 programme dedicates 60 per cent of expenditure to Sustainable Development research and 35 per cent to Climate-related research.”

Two of the successful Irish-led proposals are looking at Dublin as a hub for:

  • Air quality (iScape project (Improving the Smart Control of Air Pollution in Europe).  The project is led by Francisco Pilla in University College Dublin;
  • Nature-Base Solutions (CONNECTING project (COproductioN with NaturE for City Transitioning, INnovation and Governance).  This project is led by Marcus Collier in Trinity College Dublin.

In relation to other EU environmental projects, Dr Wemaere said,

“Irish researchers have also been successful in drawing down additional EC funding under the EU Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) on Water and Climate, supported by the EPA. The latest two Water JPI projects in the area of Water Quality and Agriculture were officially launched earlier this month in Sweden and involve Irish researchers from Trinity College Dublin (EUTROSED project) and Maynooth University (ABAWARE project). The EUTROSED project is coordinated by Trinity College Dublin, and is cofunded at national level by the EPA and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.”

Further details on Horizon 2020 is available on the EPA website at: http://www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/research/internationallinkages/horizon2020/

Notes 
• Horizon 2020 is the EU Framework Programme for research and innovation. It runs over the period 2014-2020 and has a total budget of €75 billion.
• EC Horizon 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/
• Water Joint Programming Initiative: Additional EC funding provided via ERAnet COFUND Actions Joint Calls).  Further information: http://www.waterjpi.eu/
• Climate Joint Programming Initiative: http://www.jpi-climate.eu/home
• EPA Research: http://www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/research/

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