The bioeconomy has a pivotal role to play in the transition to a more circular, sustainable and resource-efficient society. In order to achieve food security, meet climate and renewable energy targets and accelerate progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as important elements of the EU Green deal, the bioeconomy sectors need to continue to invest and innovate from knowledge exchange and training to renewable and biobased solutions that will replace fossil-based ones. The event will provide the opportunity to have an open exchange based on concrete examples with the EU institutions on the contribution of the bioeconomy to the EU Green Recovery. The provision of examples will be coupled with what are the most important policy initiatives in the Green Deal that will promote the EU bioeconomy as a solution to address many challenges that we are facing in EU. The examples provided can range from products to training and skills development.

In 2050 Europe aims to be the world’s first climate-neutral continent implementing the European Green Deal: an ambitious package of measures to deeply transform our economy and society. In the meantime, the wake-up call of the COVID-19 crisis deeply reinforced this necessity for Europe to a new paradigm towards a Water-Smart Society, from crisis management to risk management and prevention in Europe and beyond. Pollution and viruses do not stop at our boundaries and are not an issue of a single sector only. One trillion of the European budget will have to contribute to the ecological transition, particularly through emission reduction. As water is a cross-sectoral and strategic resource, water security should be a prerequisite to make the green deal a success. We need investment in innovative solutions to achieve a Water Smart Society which fully considers the true value of water. Europe’s leadership has already demonstrated its positive impact in Europe and beyond to support green growth, find sustainable solutions and strengthen its position on the world market. Research and innovation along the full value chain in the water sector can still go steps further: 💧 How can water enable European society to prevent crises, ensure resiliency and reboot our economy after and beyond the COVID19 crisis? 💧 How could we make sure that water efficiency gains at an individual level are translated into long-term water security in a context of climate change adaptation? 💧How to fuel research, technological development, and wider sectoral policy coordination to tackle urgent global water and food systems challenges? 💧 How to halt the loss of aquatic biodiversity through 2030 through inclusive models gathering the public sector, the private sector and civil society? 💧 How to move away from conventional, linear approaches to tackle water quality deterioration, towards circularity and industrial symbiosis? Join the WIE2020 digital edition to get answers to these questions, gain new insights, debate and discuss!

Co-organised by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and RSA Europe, the third "Conference on Smart Specialisation and Territorial Development: Connecting grand societal challenges with local goals in place-based innovation policy" will take place from the 30th of September to the 2d of October 2020 in Seville, Spain. The conference will provide a comprehensive picture of the Smart Specialisation policy experience, including an evaluation of its results and an account of its recent developments both conceptually and empirically. The conference also offers an opportunity to discuss and compare different territorial development approaches, exploring how they engage with the European Commission's priorities for 2019-2014 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Submission of complete special session and paper proposals should be sent through the Regional Studies Association online portal by the 15th of May 2020.

EU Green Week 2020 is now scheduled for 20-22 October 2020, on the theme of nature and biodiversity. It will highlight the contribution biodiversity makes to society and the economy, and the role it can play in supporting and stimulating recovery in a post-pandemic world, bringing jobs and sustainable growth. The recovery is an opportunity for a fresh start, in the knowledge that transformative change is possible. It’s a chance to rethink our relationship with nature, to reconsider the activities that are driving biodiversity loss and the wider ecological crisis, and to weigh up the implications for our economy and society. EU Green Week will examine how EU policies such as the European Green Deal can help protect and restore nature, leaving it room to recover and thrive. This year’s Green Week will also act as a milestone on the path to the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, now planned for 2021, where world leaders will adopt a 10-year action plan for biodiversity – a new global deal for people and nature.