The EU Green Deal sets a target for 25 per cent of agricultural land to be organic by 2030. Meeting this ambitious goal demands continuous research and innovation in sustainable food production. The CORE Organic Cofund is helping to drive this transition by increasing cooperation between international research activities. Delivering on the EU’s ambitions for…
Europe’s agricultural success has come at the cost of a reliance on a small number of high-yielding crops, supported by high inputs of fertilisers and pesticides. Diversifying the crops we grow can support the ecological processes necessary to preserve biodiversity and ensure healthier and more sustainable diets. The industrialisation of agriculture, with the corresponding focus…
Desalination is the answer to long-term water security, but it’s also expensive and energy-intensive. The good news is that scientists are developing some viable solutions. The first desalination plant in Europe was built in Spain nearly a half century ago. Since then, facilities have sprung up in water-stressed regions throughout Europe. Just a few years…
Imagine driving through a lush, green landscape in France or Germany and spotting a herd of elephants roaming freely. As absurd as that might seem, it was only 10,000 years ago that creatures the size of elephants populated continents like Europe. That’s a blip in evolutionary terms. In the last 10,000 to 60,000 years, humans…
A hybrid concrete-plastic floating platform and its components have been validated for offshore wind energy use. Winds are a boundless source of energy, growing stronger and more stable the farther away you move from the coast. While this makes offshore sites ideal for setting up wind farms, the deeper waters make such endeavours more technologically…