The EU4Ocean Platform connects diverse organisations, projects and people that contribute to ocean literacy and the sustainable management of the ocean and aims at uniting the voices of Europeans to make the ocean everyone’s concern. Explore the Map of the Month to discover who the > 100 members are, where they are located and what their field of work is.
Website : https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/atlas/maritime_atlas/#lang=EN;p=w;bkgd=1;theme=354:0.8;c=3171518.3832054734,8063071.86330463;z=5
On 30 September 2020, four transnational projects on climate-ocean interactions funded under the framework of JPI Climate & JPI Oceans held a successful joint kick-off webinar. Marking the occasion, a new booklet “Next Generation Climate Science for Oceans – Research projects 2020-2023” features the projects.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344475629_Next_Generation_Climate_Science_for_Oceans_Research_projects_2020-2023?channel=doi&linkId=5f7b08fe458515b7cf67aae6&showFulltext=true
The EU's maritime transport industry strives to reduce its impact on the environment with innovative solutions like battery-operated vessels, wind-powered ships and carbon-neutral shipping. The industry sets new environmental goals — but can it deliver?
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/press/euronews-ocean-season-2-episode-8-maritime-transport_en
Inspired by the shape of the starfish, the Mission has five overarching objectives for 2030: Filling the knowledge and emotional gap, regenerating marine and freshwater ecosystems, zero pollution, decarbonising our ocean, and waters revamping governance. These five objectives are mutually supportive and taken together, the Mission Starfish 2030 will enable the restoration of the water cycle as a whole.
: On 25 September 2020, the EU4Ocean thematic workshops on Climate and Ocean, Food from the Ocean or Healthy and Clean Ocean, discussed and gathered ideas for effective Ocean Literacy actions.
The EU4Ocean workshop “Designing Ocean Literacy action in Europe” built momentum for collective actions and knowledge sharing. At the three parallel thematic workshops, it was discussed and gathered ideas on how to help citizens in European landlocked or inland areas become Ocean Literate. The three themes of the parallel workshops were:
More info could be found here.
The maritime industry recognises there is a need for smarter collaboration to enhance operations, satisfy clients’ expectation of transparency and predictability and respond to societal concerns. Maritime Informatics, originally defined as “the application of information systems to increase the efficiency, safety, and ecological sustainability of the world’s shipping industry” was developed by data scientists to meet the needs of practice and to be applied cooperatively by practitioners and data scientists
Saturday 19/9 is World Cleanup Day. To raise awareness about the challenge of marine litter and encourage citizens worldwide to take action, the European Commission and the European External Action Service is organising the third edition of the #EUBeachCleanup campaign. In 2019, the campaign mobilised over 40,000 volunteers at events in nearly 80 countries.
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/press/eubeachcleanup-ocean-starts-you_en
With the newest release of the European Atlas of the Seas today, citizens from all around Europe now have access to stunning marine maps and interactive oceanic information in their own language, making the atlas an even more accessible and useful educational tool.
Website : https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/press/follow-lead-eu-commissioner-sinkevičius-and-exploreyourocean-24-languages_en
The new OECD publication brings together unique statistical sources to support developing countries in the implementation of a sustainable ocean economy.
Adopting more sustainable ways of managing the ocean is a global priority: protecting its health will bring benefits to all. Developing countries face specific challenges, as many depend heavily on ocean-based industries and are overly exposed to the consequences of ocean degradation. Enhancing their access to science, policy advice and financing would allow them to tap better into the opportunities of a more sustainable ocean economy, including more decent jobs, cleaner energy, improved food security and enhanced resilience, while contributing to the protection of the world’s ocean.
This report provides policymakers in developing countries, as well as their development co-operation partners with a wealth of fresh evidence on (i) the latest trends in selected ocean-based industries; (ii) policy instruments, including economic incentives, to promote ocean sustainability in various contexts; (iii) the first review of development finance and development co-operation practices in support of more sustainable ocean economies, including a discussion of how development co-operation can help re-orient private finance towards sustainability.
https://www.oecd.org/environment/sustainable-ocean-for-all-bede6513-en.htm
What will the sustainable ocean economy look like in 2030? What are the risks and opportunities facing companies and investors? Will the post-coronavirus recovery help or hinder the ocean’s potential to create economic growth and jobs?
In this report, the World Ocean Initiative assesses the challenges facing key sectors in the ocean economy including seafood, shipping, tourism and renewable energy. We look at the role of banks and investors in financing the transition towards clean, low-carbon technologies, as well as opportunities in data and analytics. Solutions to marine plastic pollution from source-to-sea are analysed, as is the ocean’s potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Drawing on the latest data and in-depth interviews with leading experts in government, business, finance and conservation, this report provides valuable insights for all stakeholders working to achieve a sustainable ocean economy.
The sea has traditionally been a large source of economic prosperity and it offers large potential to contribute to achieving quite a number of Sustainable Development Goals, including life below water, climate action, decent work and responsible consumption.
Fisheries and aquaculture have been important sources of food for a long time, but outside these sectors the use of renewable aquatic biological resources to make products is still in the infancy stage. In order to speed up the developments and achieve the potential of this so-called blue bioeconomy, the Blue Bioeconomy Forum (BBF) was set up in 2018 as a platform for entrepreneurs, researchers, government officials and other stakeholders. The aim of the BBF is to develop a common understanding of the current status of blue bioecono- my in Europe and to collectively identify strategic developments, market opportunities, appropriate financial assistance, regulatory actions and research priorities. The BFF seeks to exploit synergies between blue bioeconomy sectors which can benefit from the innovative and optimal uses of aquatic biomass, by sourcing biomass for a particular purpose (e.g. for high-value applications such as pharmaceuticals), but also by valorising by-products and ecosystem services.
In the past year and a half the BBF organised a process of interaction with more than 300 stakeholders including a starting event in December 2018 in Amsterdam and a roadmapping conference in Brussels in June 2019. The focus of their activities was on better identifying the wide range of initiatives in the sector, identifying drivers and hurdles for the development of the sector, and defining ways forward. Now they are presenting this Roadmap for the blue bioeconomy that should help the blue bioeconomy fulfil its potential and flourish.
On 25 November, the Executive Agency for SMEs organised an information day for the launch of the "Blue Economy Window" call that has a total budget of €2.5 million.
Watch the event online
Under the 2019 call, organisations can get between €700,000 and €2,500,000 for their projects. Any for-profit SME based in the EU (single participant or a member of a consortium) can apply.
The Information Day was also an opportunity take advantage of the match-making session, meet your potential partners, stakeholders or discuss your project directly with our project advisors. Check the whole agenda and also see the event presentations
For further information, visit our funding opportunities page here and also check the call's FAQs and the general EMFF FAQs.