- New Engineered Plants Could Replace Pesticides
Researchers at the Earlham Institute in Norwich have utilized precision gene engineering methods to transform tobacco plants into solar-powered factories that produce moth sex pheromones. By creating genetic modules with the instructions to build new molecules, Dr. Patron and her group can turn a plant such as tobacco into a factory that only needs sunlight and water.
- European court hears landmark lawsuits that could shape climate policy
After a pair of historic hearings, the future of European and international climate action is hanging on the decision of judges at the European Court of Human Rights. The two lawsuits, heard in Strasbourg, accuse the governments of France and Switzerland of breaching the human rights of their citizens by not doing enough to cut national emissions.
- Italy and France are bracing for another year of drought
Italy and France are bracing for a second consecutive year of drought after an abnormally dry winter. Due to climate changes and expected hot and dry summers, farmers might have to switch crops. Biotechnology and its applicaton in agriculture will play important role in the future.
- Green NGOs warn that Member States set to undermine pollution prevention rules
Environmental NGOs warn that the EU Council Presidency proposal for a general approach on the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive ignores the urgency of aligning an industry with climate neutrality, zero pollution and circular economy goals. Instead of improving ambitious pollution prevention at source, EU government representatives (in particular from Germany, France and Italy) are set to insist on business as usual for Europe’s top polluters while weakening protection for people and the environment.
- Tackling the climate crisis with innovative green technologies
65 companies have joined the First Movers Coalition which aims to decarbonize the heavy industry and long-distance transport sectors responsible for 30% of global emissions. This coalition of global companies has committed $12 billion in purchase commitments for green technologies to decarbonize the industry and other hard-to-abate sectors. Denmark, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom have joined the US as government partners to create early markets for clean technologies through policy measures and private sector engagement.
- Farms to food markets: providing solutions and collective action for sustainable food systems
The world may be facing the worst food crisis in decades. The Food Action Alliance supports 19 flagship initiatives that are transforming sustainable food systems. Over 35 partners are engaged in providing healthy, nutritious and safe foods in ways that safeguard our planet.
- Legal challenges by NGOs, citizens key to climate battle
In November, the EU institutions reached an agreement on the legislative revision ofthe ‘Fit For 55’ climate package: the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) and that on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). These regulations set climate targets for member states in various sectors, including greenhouse-gas emissions from road transport, buildings, agriculture, small industry, waste management and land use, and they require national governments to take appropriate measures to achieve these objectives. As the texts stand, however, there is no guarantee that the public can hold their governments to account for failing to adequately pursue these targets.
- The EU puts industry protection over people and planet
The EU missed a critical chance to significantly ramp up its climate ambition in one of its key enablers: the EU carbon market. EU negotiators clinched a disappointing deal on the revision of the Emissions Trading System (ETS). The deal fails to deliver on the EU’s fair share to the 1.5 Paris Agreement target and heavily favours the protection of the polluting industry over the people. With its massive historic responsibility for the current climate emergency and its capacity to act as a strong industrialised economy, the European Union needs to do more than the global average to reduce emissions.
- COP27 Snapshot
At COP27, more than 25 countries joined a Forest and Climate Leaders’ partnership with an aim to end deforestation by 2030. Countries agreed to continue work on agriculture and climate change for four more years as part of the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture.The European Commission released its long-awaited communication on fertilisers, aimed at addressing the availability and affordability of the critical agricultural inputs. The communication has been criticised by farmers’ associations and environmental groups alike. More about key developments organized to forest pledges and funding, food systems on the menu, EU combatting the fertiliser crisis, and other news and views can be found on the link below.
- How artificial intelligence is fast becoming a key tool for climate science
The publication of the 6th assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) summarises the current understanding of climate science in unprecedented detail. In recent years, climate scientists extensively use artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the machine learning. As a result, a new line of climate research is emerging that aims to complement and extend the use of observations and climate models. The overall goal is to tackle persistent challenges of climate research and to improve projections for the future.
- COP27 will be held in Egypt, from 6 to 18 November 2022
While the aim of COP26 in Glasgow was to raise global ambition, in particular regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations Synthesis Report indicates that the States’ commitments are not yet sufficient. COP27 must therefore be a conference to deepen ambitions and implementation, in order to maintain the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and should also reflect solidarity and cooperation between developed and developing countries.
- 4th meeting
4th coordinational transnational project meeting organized by Initut, Institute of Information of Technology Ltd, was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. During two days, October 20-21th, partners of the project discussed work and results over all project work packages, emphasizing the work from the last meeting and innovative parts of the results. All partners agreed about the fruitful interaction on the meeting and are looking forward to do the next step of the project.
- Climate Alliance International Conference – CAIC22
CAIC22 explored questions with a look at examples from fields such as energy poverty, renewable energies, sustainable mobility, building renovation, climate justice and nature-based solutions. Through interactive workshops and inspiring contributions, the 2022 Climate Alliance International Conference examined how local engagement with stakeholders can bring us closer to a global transformation that is both sustainable and just.
https://www.climatealliance.org/events/international-conference/2022-conference.html - Climate Diplomacy Weeks 2022
From 12 September to 30 October, EU Delegations and embassies of EU Member States around the world will host events to foster dialogue and cooperation on climate change, showcase success stories and inspire further action. Events will include conferences, citizens’ debates and other outreach activities, bringing together communities and a wide range of stakeholders. The theme of this year’s Climate Diplomacy Weeks is energy.
more: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-voice/news/climate-diplomacy-weeks-2022-2022-09-19_en - World Conference on Climate Chnage & Sustainability
The World Conference on Climate Change & Sustainability (Climate Week 2022) in Fankfurt September 01-03, with theme of Advancing the Global efforts on Climate Transparency, offered an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of the impact of climate change and global warming in the global context. The conference was the foremost global forum for multilateral discussion of climate change matters. It brought together a range of key actors from institutions, governments, cities and communities, the private sector, and civil society, including young minds, from all over the world, to make the world more climate-resilient.
more: https://climateweek.thepeopleevents.com/ - Climate and SDGs Conference
The Third Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development took place on 20-21 July, with both in-person and virtual participation. Featuring over 100 speakers from around the world and more than 2000 participants generated an impressive range of potential solutions and proposals for how to better integrate efforts to tackle these interlinked global crises and accelerate action to address the climate emergency and recent reversals in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
more: https://www.un.org/en/climate-sdgs-conference-2022 - Moment for Nature
Convened by the 76th President of the UN General Assembly addressed today’s environmental crises to ultimately meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The session has coincided with a several conferences, high-level meetings and processes relating to the environment: the three Conferences of Parties on Climate, Biodiversity and Land; the Second UNOceanConference; the Food Systems Summit; the Sustainable Transportation Conference; the High-Level Dialogue on Energy; the High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda; UNEA/ UNEP@50; and Stockholm+50.
more: https://www.un.org/pga/76/high-level-thematic-debate-of-the-general-assembly-moment-for-nature/ - Joining the EU Mission for Adaptation to Climate Change
The European Commission announced the first 118 regions and local authorities from 18 Member States that will participate in the EU Mission for Adaptation to Climate Change, the so-called Mission Adaptation, which will support the European Green Deal and the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy.
more: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_3527 - Governments meet ahead of COP27
Environment ministers from over 40 different countries met 18 – 19 July at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany to prepare the ground for this year’s annual UN climate conference. This year’s Conference of the Parties (COP 27) will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 7-18 November.
more: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-voice/news/governments-meet-ahead-cop27-pave-way-progress-sharm-el-sheikh-2022-07-20_en - Bonn Climate Change Conference
The Bonn Climate Change Conference, June 16th, has been the first opportunity for all Parties to the UNFCCC to meet since the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26 last year. Discussions took place on a range of important topics, including the need for more ambitious climate action, deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced resilience to adapt to the effects of climate change and financial support for developing countries.
more: https://unfccc.int/SB56
- World Environment Day
This year, the World Environment Day is devoted to #OnlyOneEarth, calling for collective and transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet.
more: https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/ - UN Conference on Desertification
Under the theme ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity’, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification aims to ensure that land continues to benefit present and future generations. It will bring together leaders from around the world to drive progress on the sustainable management of land, one of our most precious commodities.
more: https://www.unccd.int/cop15 - International Conference on Agricultural, Biotechnology, Biological and Biosystems Engineering – ICABBBE 2022
The conference aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Agricultural, Biotechnology, Biological and Biosystems Engineering.
more: https://waset.org/agricultural-biotechnology-biological-and-biosystems-engineering-conference-in-october-2022-in-rome - 4th International Congress on Green Extraction of Natural Products – GENP2022
The conference, supported by European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) and ISEKI Food association will in 27-28 October feature scientific program focused on agro-food, perfume, cosmetic, nutraceutical, chemical, fuel and energy sectors. The whole value chain of every application is considered; cultivation, extraction, purification, processing and recycling steps.
- 3rd meeting
3rd coordinational transnational project meeting was organized in Bologna, Italy on April, 27th by University of Bologna. As before, partners participated on site and virtually using Microsoft Teams. Several results and administrative themes were discussed, and the plan for the future work was presented.
- Questionnaires 2
The second questionnaires regarding the selection of blended learning model are ready, please fill free to solve them and provide valuable information for the project.
- BIO-SAVE and The 26th UN Climate Change Conference
It is our pleasure to inform that the information about the BIO-Save project has been announced at the UNICA newsletter in respect to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) (#TogetherForOurPlanet: UNICA universities join COP26’s comittement to global climate action with different activities | UNICA (unica-network.eu).
- 2nd meeting
2nd coordinational transnational project meeting organized by University of Thessaly took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, October 8th.
Project partners participated on site and virtually over conference software Teams. Results of work packages were presented by responsible partners, discussion was opened, expected innovative approaches and results were emphasized, and future work was set.
- Questionnaires
The first questionnaires regarding the blended learning platform are ready, please fill free to solve them and provide valuable information for the project.
- Kick-off meeting
Our first meeting of BIO-Save project partners took place in virtual space, February 5th 2021.
All partners had the chance to introduce their organizations, discuss the aims and objectives of the project and set the first steps toward results of the project. Special guest of the meeting was Mrs. Marie-Pierre Degive. The meeting was fruitful, with such project management and partners the success of the project is guarranted.
