Priorities of the EU strategy to reduce methane emissions

Subject: Priorities of the EU strategy to reduce methane emissions

In its Communication of 14 October 2020 (COM(2020) 663) on an EU strategy to reduce methane emissions, the Commission announced, inter alia, a review of the regulatory framework to facilitate the introduction into the gas system of gaseous fuels from renewable energy sources.

The initiative to accelerate European biogas production from agricultural waste as an important tool for reducing methane emissions deserves support. Action in this area should be an important part of the long-term vision for rural areas. Poland has already taken a number of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector, e.g. by optimising the dosage and storage of fertilisers, in line with the list of best practices annexed by the Commission.

At the same time, it is worth highlighting the potential of the Horizon Europe research programme as one of the tools to support the implementation of this strategy. However, this programme should take into account the research needs of all EU countries equally, so that farmers, and other actors in this sector of the economy, across the EU have equal access to the results of EU-funded research and that the research can be tailored to their specific needs.

In light of the above:

How does the Commission intend to ensure geographical balance when it comes to participation in Horizon Europe projects, particularly in the context of the strategy to reduce methane emissions?

Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (14 September 2021)

Horizon Europe, and its relevant Missions and Partnerships, can make an important contribution to the implementation of the EU strategy to reduce methane emissions.

Several topics included in the 2021/2022 work programme of Horizon Europe can potentially contribute such as the two topics aiming to establish a demonstration network on climate-smart farming (1), which both foresee that all Member States should be covered, or a topic on resilient livestock farming systems (2). Additionally, a topic is addressing innovation actions supporting sustainable biomethane production (3).

The evaluation and award criteria under Horizon Europe (4) do not include specific requirements to ensure a geographical balance of participating entities. The Commission encourages Member States to participate in Horizon Europe projects and take benefit of solutions that can be disseminated and exploited in different parts of Europe through knowledge exchange.

The agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) (5), the agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS) of the Member States and the BIOEAST initiative (6) play an important role in this knowledge exchange.

It is important that all Member States participate actively in Horizon Europe, making also effective use of the increased opportunities offered under its part on ‘Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area’ (7).

⋅1∙ ‘Demonstration network on climate-smart farming — linking pilot farms’ HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-04 and ‘Demonstration network on climate-smart

farming — boosting the role of advisory services’ HORIZON-CL6-2022-CLIMATE-01-03 ⋅2∙ ‘Resilient livestock farming systems under climate change’ HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-06 ⋅3∙ ‘Innovative biomethane production as an energy carrier and a fuel’ HORIZON-CL5-2021-D3-03-16 ⋅4∙ https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-2022/wp-13-general-annexes_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf ⋅5∙ https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/node

⋅6∙ https://bioeast.eu/

⋅7∙ https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2021-2022/wp-11-widening-participation-and-strengthening-the-

european-research-area_horizon-2021-2022_en.pdf