Horizon 2020 has made approximately €80bn available in funds for collaborative research projects by researchers in Europe and other countries, including Bangladesh. Speaker of the Bangladeshi Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury; the minister for science and technology, architect Yeafesh Osman; ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh, Pierre Mayaudon; and president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Nihad Kabir, were present at a seminar event held on 18 July. Chaudhury said that there is ample opportunity for collaboration between Bangladeshi researchers and their EU counterparts on issues such as food security, the blue economy and ICT. She added: “Blue economy would mean the promotion of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and employment opportunities in Bangladesh’s maritime activities in short-, medium- and long-term time frames.” The seminar event, EU Horizon 2020: Opportunities for Bangladesh, brought participants from business, academia, research institutes, think tanks and the government to discuss the key issues on Horizon 2020, its rules of participation and partnership. Moreover, it discussed the funding body’s research and innovation (R&I) opportunities in order to address global societal challenges such as agriculture, food, health, aquaculture, water, climate change and energy. Osman said: “A partnership with European firms can benefit Bangladesh to improve understanding on the economics of climate change and pool resources in a structured manner to develop tools and methods for gauging impacts.” The post Horizon 2020 funding for Bangladeshi research appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.

The Energy efficient Mortgages Action Plan (EeMAP) initiative has launched a website aimed at encouraging people to buy energy efficient properties. EeMAP is a market-led and first-of-its-kind initiative which aims to design an ‘energy efficient mortgage’. The initiative aims to demonstrate that energy efficiency has risk mitigation effects for lenders due to its impact in enhancing a borrower’s ability to service their loan and on the value of the property. EeMAP is an initiative by the European Mortgage Federation – European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC); UK Green Buildings Council; Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy; E.ON and SAFE Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. The project has received funding under the Horizon 2020 programme. It was launched in June 2017 at a ‘Kick-Off Stakeholder Meeting’ in Rome, where over 100 European market stakeholders met with the European Parliament, the European Commission and local authorities. They discussed how EU property owners could finance energy efficiency investments in the European building stock. The website hosts a series of videos summarising the debates held at the meeting and the comments of key supporters, including MEP Bendt Bendtsen, rapporteur on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Luca Bertalot, EeMAP co-ordinator and secretary general of the European Mortgage Federation and European Covered Bond Council, said: “We are delighted to announce that the EeMAP website is now online. “With a clear market-developed roadmap for the private financing of energy efficiency, the EeMAP initiative proposes concrete solutions to enhance energy efficiency in the EU, with market stakeholders supporting the leadership role that the EU has taken in tackling climate change.” The post EeMAP launches energy efficient mortgage website appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.

Researchers at the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy, set out to demonstrate the impact environmental heat exposure has on labour loss in the vineyard. The researchers in Calabria claim the global wine industry represents 0.2% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). They also claim, even with the mechanisation of vineyard work throughout the world, much of the work to produce wine is still manual labour. Researchers selected Cyprus for the study, where mean temperatures during harvest are above 36°C. According to the researchers, ‘laboratory studies have shown that the above-mentioned amount of thermal strain during grape picking can impair the human physiologic function and capacity to perform prolonged exercise and work.’ The aim of the study was to assess the impact of workplace heat on the work shift time spent performing labour. Time-motion analysis was done by way of a video camera to follow the vineyard workers’ movement and time spent. The study’s secondary aim was to determine whether environmental seasonal conditions influenced the grape pickers. The workers monitored for each season comprised of four males and two females, each experienced grape pickers. Analysis highlighted that 12.4% of their total work shift time was spent on irregular work time breaks. There was from 0.6% to 2.1% increase in hourly work time breaks for every degree Celsius increase in air temperature as well as increase in the worker’s skin temperature. The study concluded that neither monitoring productivity nor the vineyard manager’s estimates reflected the true work time labour in these workers. However, the time-motion analysis accurately evaluated every second spent by each worker and it showed that increased workplace heat led to significant labour loss. The post Study indicates link between heat exposure and labour loss appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.

European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete met the EU Covenant of Mayors in Brussels to discuss future strategies and exchange views on energy and climate policy. Due to support from the commission and directly linked to EU policy since its creation in 2008, the Covenant of Mayors has been one of the most successful European energy and climate initiatives. Shaped by and for cities in a bottom-up process, the EU Covenant of Mayors signatories are on track to meet their 27% average target for reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, Germany, insisted that mayors should focus on influencing citizens’ behaviour by developing public transport and promoting active mobility such as walking and cycling, with which all mayors present agreed. The Mayor of Udine, Italy, Professor Furio Honsell, said: “We discussed the next multi-annual financial framework which should make it easier for cities to stimulate the energy transition and create low-emission areas. “It was also pointed out that subsidising fossil fuel industries should be phased out. I stressed the importance of taking into account the economic and social impacts of decarbonisation in order to take on-board the largest number of people in the energy transition process.” Cañete added: “The energy sector is indeed decisive for the implementation of the Paris Agreement but also to protect our citizens, in particular the most vulnerable, by ensuring access to clean and affordable energy for all, while contributing to competitiveness, employment and growth. The European Commission is strongly supporting cities in their efforts to achieve these objectives by setting the enabling framework, notably with the recently-adopted ’Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package as part of the Energy Union framework strategy.” The Covenant of Mayors Board members presented Cañete with a declaration that outlined its achievements. Their commitments to the energy transition and climate protection were reaffirmed, as was the essential role played by local governments in EU policies. The overall message was one of cities contributing fast decisions at local level, however difficult. Honsell suggested that the next meeting will be held in the first quarter of 2018. The post Cañete meets EU Covenant of Mayors appeared first on Horizon 2020 Projects.