A call to address climate change
Climate change and environmental challenges are affecting our planet at an alarming rate. The EU-funded project Econetus sought to involve Europe's newest and upcoming members in research projects on the topic. It built collaboration initiatives involving both old and new EU countries, namely Lithuania, Austria, Poland and the United Kingdom to encourage joint research and development (R&D) projects. The project built a database of over 500 partners from Europe and other countries worldwide to create and enlarge the project network. It conducted over 30 conferences in Europe, the most notable of which was the project's final conference held in Gdansk, Poland in 2007. The year before that also saw the organisation of knowledge acquisition workshops on project management, as well as negotiations and contracts to encourage participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in environment-related projects. All the events helped disseminate information on the project's database among researchers through leaflets, a CD version of the database and through EU National Contact Points (NCPs). Econetus led to the proposal and submission of 10 EU projects on environment, promoting this important field and advancing research on climate change. The initiative helped create solid links among researchers and foster development on the topic, setting the stage for vigorous collaboration in the sector. Without a doubt, Econetus has bolstered Europe as an important player in empowering countries worldwide to address the challenges of climate change.
