TOPIC 1: EUROPEAN CAPACITIES FOR CITIZEN DELIBERATION AND PARTICIPATION FOR THE GREEN DEAL

Specific Challenge:

All areas of the Green Deal, from climate action to zero pollution, require citizens’ active support at all stages of the transitions. Workable solutions, accepted and taken-up at scale, can only be found through the active participation of all concerned. This is particularly the case of complex issues with diverging views or interests at stake, such as the rural-urban gap, attitudes to the bio-economy, water management, the choice of energy sources, etc. Such issues can best be addressed through participatory processes involving citizens from different cross-sections of society across Europe. The Conference on the Future of Europe has further heightened awareness of the need for participatory processes and raised expectations in this respect.

Strong expectations of citizen participation have also been raised in the context of Horizon Europe preparation, in particular for Horizon Europe Missions, which will be highly relevant to the Green Deal. Such processes may include a large spectrum of co-creation activities and events based on dialogue and information exchange. Modalities of participatory processes differ according to goals and expected outcomes, from harnessing diversity of knowledge, expectations and views in order to improve knowledge quality and enrich the inputs to policy discussions; up to creating ‘mini-publics’ in order to extend the arenas of public discussion and improve the
representativeness of policy decisions.

Participatory processes in general and citizen deliberation in particular, require different levels of expertise, as well as upfront clarification of ethical and methodological principles and a clear commitment on the side of institutions about the processes’ outcomes. Successful experiences have been led at European, national and local levels, which would gain to be expanded, structured and scaled. Moreover, such actions should be accompanied by comparative research and feedback to ensure continuous monitoring, evaluation and learning. 

TOPIC 2: BEHAVIOURAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE FOR THE GREEN DEAL

Specific Challenge:

All areas of the Green Deal, from climate action to zero pollution, require considerable changes in the behaviour of individuals, communities and public and private organisations. These changes concern, for example, mobility behaviours, minimising traffic-related emissions and resource consumption, etc.

Several foci of behaviour and mindset are at play in interconnected ways: concern for one’s health, concern for the planet, ethical concerns such as fairness and solidarity, etc. Ways of combining individual, collective and environmental benefits should be sought wherever possible. Disadvantaged social groups need special attention. Their existing practices, for example, may combine environmentally friendly, circular habits with practices that are detrimental to both their own health and to the environment, but to which they see no feasible alternatives (from dietary choices to inappropriate use, reuse and disposing of materials). Similarly, differences of perceptions (in different regions of the EU, among different social groups, across genders) of the urgency of the climate change and other environmental issues, and thus the urgency of related behaviour change, need focused attention.

Addressing these issues requires research and experimentation on behavioural, social and cultural change across Europe, founded on transdisciplinary expertise and strong ethical and methodological standards. Moreover, these actions must be accompanied with comparative research and feedback to ensure continuous monitoring and learning. 

TOPIC 3: ENABLING CITIZENS TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION THROUGH EDUCATION, CITIZEN SCIENCE, OBSERVATION INITIATIVES, AND CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

Specific Challenge

The active role of citizens and their direct involvement is essential to address climate change and other human actions harming the environment on land and sea. Changes in
citizen’s and consumer’s behaviours towards more sustainable patterns can happen through education, awareness raising, citizen science, observation and monitoring of their
environmental impacts, and civic involvement. It is essential to directly involve citizens and communities in contributing to climate action and protecting the environment, thereby
encouraging them to change their personal behaviour, reducing their carbon and environmental footprint and taking action at the individual and collective level. This would lead
to a more sustainable lifestyle and relationship to the environment, by promoting biodiversity protection, nature-based solutions for climate resilience, sustainable energy consumption,
waste management, etc.

A strong emphasis is placed on strengthening environmental awareness of the young generation through education and other forms of youth engagement. Pupils and students have the potential to become ambassadors for climate action and environmental protection by sharing their knowledge, experience and engagement with their families, local communities, and with public and private decision makers. As recommended in the European Green Deal Communication, schools, training institutions and universities are well positioned to engage with pupils, parents, and the wider community on the changes needed for a successful  transition to a green economy. A European competence framework is needed to help develop and assess knowledge, skills and attitudes on climate change and sustainable development. Citizen science is a powerful tool for climate action and environmental protection through civic involvement. Citizen science should be understood broadly, covering a range of different levels of participation, from raising public knowledge of science, encouraging citizens to participate in the scientific process by observing, gathering and processing data, right up to setting scientific agenda and co-designing and implementing science-related policies. It could also involve publication of results and teaching science. Citizen science activities should be based on a robust scientific methodology ensuring the quality of the data collected and a fair representation of all stakeholders involved. Citizen science will help to raise awareness and to educate in science. It will also provide new tools and data for environmental monitoring, covering a broad European geography. Citizen science can strongly contribute to the delivery of environmental data with a significant potential for further broad use. It will have real-life impact through adaptations in citizen/consumer personal behaviours.

Initiatives should be coherent with the objectives of the European Green Deal and of the European Climate Pact to engage citizens and communities in action addressing climate change and environmental protection. The proposed activities will build on existing initiatives and practices that demonstrate innovation teaching and learning methods and how to engage the wider community in the changes needed for a successful and just transition, as for example the European Ocean Literacy platform, the European Atlas of the Seas, the citizen science platform, the Horizon 2020 project TeRRIFICA, EUSchoolnet, Scientix, resources for naturebased solutions in education, as well as cultural, creative and artistic activities as a tool for empowering citizens. 

Disclaimer: The presentation of draft topics and the feedback provided shall in under no circumstances bind the European Commission in the final formulation of topics for the call. The binding call text will be published following the formal decision by the European Commission on the Funding and tender opportunities portal. (Source https://ec.europa.eu/)