CCM EU | March 2021

Editor's Note
 

 

Firstly, we need to read recent events from the perspective of energy security. Europe is a conglomerate of highly developed, highly energy demanding states that are scarce in fossil fuels. This has historically meant a high dependence on countries outside the union to supply with fossil fuels, with Russia playing a very significant role. Sanctions from the EU and the weaponization of gas supply by Russia have made energetic self-reliance a high priority for the EU, with new plans for renewables to cover most of the demand as soon as reasonably possible.

Secondly, we can see the pandemic brought some systematic changes; the rise in home office decreased the number of commutes and energy consumption at workplaces, usually more energy intensive. Together with an increased awareness of energy use at home due to increasing energy prices, we are observing a shift towards more sustainable lifestyles.

Thirdly, the pandemic revealed weaknesses in the global supply chain. With a heavy reliance on imports, many countries in the EU experienced shortages and high prices when Covid-19 stroke in other parts of the world. This brought up the necessity of decreasing dependence and increasing the local production of many goods, which is expected to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

This generates us mixed feelings; we are optimistic about seeing plans and actions rapidly shifting to a more sustainable model, although we would have preferred different reasons for this change.

Do you want to know more about the latest findings of EU projects on climate change mitigation? We bring you a collection of the latest articles in the Climate Change Mitigation Portal:

• The GoNexus project explores solutions governing the water-energy-food ecosystems in their latest article.
• The ESM2025 project brings us:

                        - Their latest article in climate policies
                        - Their analysis of the latest UNFCCC Global Stocktake 
                        - The impacts of the increasing frequency of wildfires in particle pollution.

• The EIFFEL project explores the potential of Earth Observation applications for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• The ROLES project analyses the role of solar neighbourhoods in decentralization and digitalization.
• The LANDMARC project recently published new content on:

                          - How molecular biology contributes to soil carbon sequestration 
                          - The new rules for international carbon markets.

• The CONSTRAIN project explores:

                          - Insights on the latest IPCC report an
                          - Our chances of staying within 1.5 degrees.

• The RES4Build project brings us news on:

                           - Applying Existing Solutions in European Buildings for Carbon Savings
                           - Integrated Energy Solutions in the Built Environment - A necessity for the EU Renovation Wave?

We are also very happy to announce big news regarding the portal:

• The website has been recently renewed, with fresh aesthetics, improved navigation functionalities, article downloads and much more, go check it out!
• The management of the portal will be transferred from LANDMARC to the MAIA project in the coming weeks, so more news are upcoming.

The Climate Change Mitigation Portal team will continue to feature highlights on climate change research, so please sign up for our newsletter to see the latest updates.
 
Carlos Picón
Climate Change and Sustainability researcher at JIN Climate and Sustainability
 
 

Uploading articles to the portal is easy. Project coordinators can request log-in codes which give access to a user-friendly online text editor for preparing and posting articles. For acquiring log-in codes and further information about the portal, please contact (ccm@jin.ngo).

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