Better understanding, anticipating and addressing the biodiversity benefits and impacts of the clean and digital industries

O čem je ta razpis?

The topic funds transdisciplinary research and tools to assess and reduce the biodiversity impacts of clean, digital and energy-intensive industries in Europe. Projects should cover at least five industrial activities and three biogeographical regions.

Kaj ta razpis financira?

Scope

The topic funds research that helps society, industry and decision-makers understand and reduce the biodiversity impacts of Europe's clean and digital transition. Industries in scope are European-based industries relevant to the Clean Industrial Deal and the digital and artificial intelligence industry, including supporting infrastructure such as transport, energy production and grids, mining and mineral processing, and data centres.

Activities (for at least five industrial activities at NACE level)

• Develop typologies of biodiversity benefits, impacts and dependencies in terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems, building on the ENCORE database, to support due diligence reporting.
• Assess direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on natural resources, ecosystems and ecological connectivity over space and time.
• Compare business-as-usual with decarbonised, digital and circular industries through cost-benefit assessment of mitigation measures and spatial scenarios at European scale.
• Provide recommendations and tools on biodiversity-sensitive pathways, such as permitting, spatial planning, investment screening and the mitigation hierarchy.
• Test recommendations with industrial partners, local authorities and civil society, for example through nature-based mitigation pilots or biodiversity stress tests.

Requirements

A transdisciplinary approach with industry, institutions and civil society and an effective contribution of social sciences and humanities are required. Selected projects form a cluster with a dedicated, budgeted work package for joint activities and should cooperate with projects funded under the Clean Industrial Deal Horizon Europe call.

Expected outcomes

Better understanding of biodiversity impacts across industrial value chains, avoidance of burden-shifting, and more resilient clean and digital industries working towards a nature-positive economy in line with the EU Taxonomy and the Do No Significant Harm principle.

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14. januarja 2027 (69 dni)

14 January 2027