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The EU should cut greenhouse gases by 80% compared to 1990 levels by 2050, according to the European Commission's low-carbon economy roadmap. Image Credit: Rachel Clarke, CC BY-NC 2.0
environment | energy | policy
28 November 2018

‘Internet of electricity’ and zero-carbon molecules will help decarbonise Europe – report

An ‘internet of electricity’, zero-carbon cities and turning European soils into carbon sinks are among a slew of ambitious ideas to decarbonise our society and slash greenhouse gas emissions proposed by environmental experts in a report published on 28 November.

Commissioner Moedas likened the European Open Science Cloud to a 16th century coffeehouse where new ideas could circulate and flourish. Image credit - picture is in the public domain
ict | policy | open science
26 November 2018

Digital ‘coffeehouse’ to spark new scientific ideas now ready for use

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a virtual one-stop shop for researchers to share, access and reuse data, was officially unveiled at the University of Vienna, Austria, on 23 November, giving scientists, open data advocates, research institutions and policymakers a first glimpse of the portal.

Complex Earth observation data is being turned into real-time tools to help solve problems on the ground in Africa. Image credit - MERIS mosaic of Africa, May 2004 by ESA is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
environment | policy | open to the world
22 November 2018

Europe’s eyes in the sky are helping to solve energy, land-use problems in Africa

Scientists have created a solar atlas of Egypt, revealing where the sun’s rays shine most brilliantly and where dust storms obstruct its light. And in Niger, forecasters are guiding pastoralists towards grazing areas and water sources – and away from conflict with sedentary farmers.

Carlos Moedas, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, speaks at the Web Summit in Lisbon on November 6. Image credit - European Commission
policy | open innovation
07 November 2018

Carlos Moedas: The EU will fund more social innovation because it’s the future of innovation

Socially focused innovators across Europe have called on the European Union to put innovation at the heart of its strategy to achieve a ‘social triple A rating’– an ambition set out by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in 2014 to give greater prominence to the bloc’s social priorities.

Athens, Greece was awarded the €1 million iCapital prize. Image credit - Pixabay/sman_5, licensed under CC0
policy | open innovation
06 November 2018

Athens is named the 2018 European capital of innovation

Athens, Greece has been named the 2018 European Capital of Innovation for the innovative ways in which it has overcome social and economic challenges and turned them into new opportunities. The €1 million iCapital first prize was announced at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal on 6 November, with five other European cities receiving runner-up prizes of €100,000.'Athens has shown a new dimension to what we mean by innovation. It is not only for the powerful, well-resourced and prosperous cities, it is for everyone,' said Athens' mayor Georgios Kaminis, when the award was announced.Last year's iCapital winner was Paris, France.

Prof. Rockström says that Earth observation systems are helping us to define national budgets to stay within planetary boundaries. Image credit - M. Axelsson/Azote
interview | environment | policy
22 October 2018

Eliminating coal, oil and natural gas is the easy part of fighting climate change – Johan Rockström

To avoid climate breakdown, eliminating fossil fuels is the easy part, according to Professor Johan Rockström, co-director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. He says that safeguarding biological resources such as water, soil and biodiversity will be the ultimate test of whether global warming targets can be reached.

Bill Gates and Commissoner Carlos Moedas committed to establish a fund to get radical new clean energy technologies to market. Image credit - European Commission
environment | policy | open innovation
17 October 2018

Bill Gates and European Commission launch €100 million clean energy fund

Bill Gates and the European Commission have launched a €100 million investment fund designed to bring radical clean energy technologies more quickly to market in order to promote energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Amatrice, Italy, in August 2016 killed nearly 300 people. Image credit - Amatrice Corso by Mario1952 is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5 and 2016 Amatrice earthquake by Leggi il Firenzepost is licensed under CC BY 3.0
environment | policy | open science
13 September 2018

Plate tectonics observatory to create seismic shift in earthquake research

We may never be able to entirely predict earthquakes such as those that hit central Italy in 2016, but we could better assess how they’re going to play out by joining up data from different scientific fields in a new Europe-wide observatory, say scientists.

One of the pressing questions that arise with artificial intelligence is how to account for the actions of machines that make decisions by themselves. Image credit - ITU Pictures, licensed under CC BY 2.0
policy
13 July 2018

Digital age 'desperately' needs ethical and legal guidelines

Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics, ‘desperately’ need an institutional framework and system of values to help regulate the industry, an ethics expert has told leading scientists and policymakers.

Engaging with the public is essential to winning back trust in evidence-based policy making. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0
policy
12 July 2018

General public should have more input into scientific advice

The scientific community needs to listen more to people outside academia if it wants to continue to help politicians create good evidence-based policies that will benefit the public, a conference has heard.

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