HORIZON 2020 PROJECTS


ENergy TRANsitions from Coal and carbon: Effects on Societies

This project is framed under the topic “SSH aspects of the Clean-Energy Transition” and it tries to interpret the “Challengues facing the carbon intensive regions” within a multi-contextual framework: 1) the de-carbonisation policies; 2) the ongoing processes of de-territorialisation; and 3) the territorial dimension of clean energy transition.

These contextual elements are presented in the project, providing an interpretation of the main research questions of the topic.: a) The de-carbonisation of coal and carbon intensive regions risks to be a cul de sac of the energy transition process. Along with this process a set of conflicts emerge and move from local to national and European level and vice-versa. One of the main ideas of the project is analysing these conflicts and the negotiation processes related to them, as well as the political cultures and discourses behind these conflicts; b) The challenges facing coal and carbon-intensive regions are studied in the light of the ongoing process at the territorial level. Another main idea of the project is to identifying the factors of de-territorialisation in action in different coal and carbon-intensive regions and to explain their dynamics and interactions; c) The clean energy transition cannot be understood only as a technological change or as an industrial shift, and it is studied as a socio-economicpsychological process affectng the life of local communities.

More information about ENTRANCES here.

CONNECTING NATURE (2017-2022)

Connecting Nature is a €12m five-year project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Innovation Action Programme. With 29 project partners from industry, local authorities, local communities, NGO’s and research in 16 countries, Connecting Nature aims to position Europe as a global leader in the innovation and implementation of nature-based solutions. Project partners will develop policy and practices necessary to scale up urban resilience, innovation and governance using nature-based solutions.

The People-Environment Research Group of the University of A Coruña leads the Work Package 1 –Assessment, evidence and evaluation. The objective to build a coherent reference framework that meaningfully connects different types of data and information for the evaluation of the five areas of performance of nature-based solutions as well as to identify new synergistic data-gathering techniques that make use of the latest available technologies, allow representation of traditionally under-represented groups in urban policy-making, and are cost-effective.

In Work Package 1 we will develop and test a truly global, comprehensive and robust mechanism that will be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of nature-based solutions implementation in cities. We will use the following impact indicators and assessment criteria. Impact indicators: Climate change adaptation and resilience, health and well being, social cohesion, economic development potential, green business opportunities. Assessment criteria are: Cost-effectiveness, Inclusivity, Policy embeddedness and Stakeholder endorsement

More information about CONNECTING NATURE on the website: https://connectingnature.eu/

SMARTEES (2018-2021)

The SMARTEES project (Social innovation Modelling Approaches to Realizing Transition to Energy Efficiency and Sustainability) is a Horizon 2020 project aimed at simulating a number of successful social innovations in the energy transition, and developing – together with people in the field – a “sandbox model” to experiment with strategies to stimulate societal change. 11 European partners will work together in this exciting project that will run for 3 years. SMARTEES will start at 1rs of May 2018. 

Partners in this project are the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (coordinator), Norway, James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom, K&I Knowledge & Innovation, Italy, University of a Coruna, Spain, Energy Institute at Johannes Keppler University, Austria, University of Timisoara, Romania, University of Groningen, Netherlands, ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, Germany, and Samsø Energiakademiet, Denmark.

The People-Environment Research Group is the lead partner in Work Package 5 – Future Policy Scenarios. The UDC team will put in practice its relevant experience in participatory diagnosis for the identification of social needs, stakeholder mapping and the assessment of drivers and barriers to sustainable transitions, as conducted in the previous LOCAW and GLAMURS FP7 projects. More information about the SMARTEES project on the website: http://local-social-innovation.eu


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