Agriculture accounts for 25 % of the world’s total carbon emissions. To help the sector reduce its carbon footprint, the EU-funded AgriCapture project is turning to a process that removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in soil. Not only can this reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, it also improves soil quality.
Our cities are home to the vast majority of Europeans, but they are under pressure from the complexities of climate change and rapid urbanisation. The EU-funded CURE project leveraged the power of Earth Observation satellites to address these issues, aiming to create safer, more sustainable cities for EU citizens.
Climate change, drought and population growth have made the management of India’s water resources a pressing concern. To address this, and in partnership with local stakeholders, the EU-funded PAVITRA GANGA project has successfully piloted and monitored new wastewater treatment technologies. Once fully implemented, these could bring significant health and environmental benefits to citizens.
The huge amount of environmental information available to decision makers can be overwhelming. The EU-funded LANDSUPPORT project developed an easy-to-use web platform that combines satellite, drone and remote sensing data with cutting-edge models. Using this, farmers, policymakers and even citizens can easily find relevant information and make informed environmental choices.
By 2050, the world population may reach 10 billion people. Unfortunately, there’s not enough agricultural land available to sustainably produce the food needed to feed this many people. To help, the EU-funded FutureAgriculture project has designed a new type of crop capable of producing the amounts required to feed a rapidly growing population and to adapt to the effects of climate change.
A great deal of biodiversity, accounting for an enormous variety of plants, amongst other forms of life, is found on the forest floor but this is often overlooked in forest management strategies. An EU-funded project developed an online tool to accurately take account of biodiversity loss at this level. This will help to conserve forests for future generations of EU citizens.
To strengthen its research capabilities, the Croatian Geological Survey turned to twinning. Through the EU-funded GeoTwinn project it was paired with two other world-leading research institutions and received personalised training in geoscience research. They now have the internal capacity and skills to investigate geological hazards that will benefit not only Croatians but all EU citizens.
The global bioeconomy is growing, but it must overcome hurdles including avoiding competition with land used for food production. An EU- and industry-funded project is exploring using contaminated and waste land for biocrops.
By adapting the Andean lupin to grow as a biomass crop in Europe's poorest soils, the goal of the EU-and industry-funded LIBBIO project is to supply a range of products to the food, animal feed and cosmetics industries.
Understanding the roles land management and its uses play in the overall climate system is critical to mitigating the potential effects of climate change. EU-funded research is helping to enhance our knowledge of these interactions.
