Towards net-zero: How can science guide effective action?

In 2019, Europe set out its stall to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 – transforming key industrial sectors and value chains in the process. Yet as the European Commission itself recognises, the necessary building blocks must be put in place within five years – technology, infrastructure development, investment priorities and more – to have any chance of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

Put bluntly, this means that the EU cannot afford to pick the wrong transition pathways. Critical decisions and actions to 2025 will depend greatly on policy makers having access to, and effectively using, the best data, evidence, modelling and analysis that research can provide. This gives rise to a number of vital questions:

• Where do policy makers source their knowledge and insight from Europe’s science base to define realistic pathways towards net-zero – including academia, industry, publishers, RTOs, national agencies and others?
• Are the current models for transferring knowledge from science to policy fit for purpose?
• Where are the critical blockages and gaps – in data, analysis and translation – and how can these be effectively resolved, both at EU and national levels?
• How can Europe’s research and innovation ecosystems help to advance the process? 

In this invitation-only, online roundtable, Science|Business will convene a select group of senior figures and experts from across the R&I spectrum to debate these issues, and to identify concrete recommendations to improve science-based decision making in pursuit of the 2050 climate goals.