After the successful delivery of last year’s project focused on the decarbonization of the Czech automotive industry, the climate team of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy leads its second round. This time, the project aims to use already acquired knowledge, contacts and resources to help create a conducive environment for discussion between the representatives of the industry and the public sector. It will also contribute to our understanding of the decarbonization pathways through evidence-based research. Lastly, the project aims to raise social awareness about the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition of the automotive industry by organizing events and media briefings. This year’s project will be shaped by the Czech Presidency of the European Council in the second half of the year.

The project called Decarbonization of the automotive industry aims to enable fast and fair decarbonization of the automotive industry in the Czech Republic by bridging the gap between policy- and decision-makers and companies. The key networking activities rely on evidence-based research outputs and follow-up activities with the respective stakeholders of the automotive industry in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, the project aims to deepen the public understanding and social acceptance of the inevitable changes in the transport sector. The project is led by the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy with financial support from the European Climate Foundation.

Our researcher Michal Hrubý attended the conference on Decarbonisation of Automotive Transport where he took part in the debate. We are on the threshold of a decision about the future of Czech car transport. Demand for electromobility is growing exponentially globally, as is the development of battery technology. In the future, these could become value-added products that will kick-start our economy and return the Czech Republic to a leading position in the investment environment. According to representatives of the European Parliament, the state administration, the automotive industry and independent experts on electromobility, it is now important for the Czech Republic to leave the scepticism of change behind and start educating and preparing for the decarbonisation of automotive transport. Not only for the environmental impact, but especially for the future competitiveness of the sector. This was stated in a debate at the Decarbonisation of Automotive Transport conference organised by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy on Tuesday 1 March.

On Tuesday, 1 March, an online conference entitled Decarbonisation of Czech Car Transport will be held by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy from 14:00 to 15:30. The event will be broadcast live online and you can watch the live stream on EUROPEUM's Facebook page. You will be able to contribute to the discussion directly during the debate by commenting below the video. The debate will be held in Czech.

In the next Policy Paper, Katarína Svitková writes about the conference which will take place in November 2021, Scotland’s largest exhibition center in Glasgow is to host an international climate summit of great importance titled the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. The 26th Conference of the Parties continues a series of high-level international climate summits, the first of which was held in 1995 in Berlin, Germany

Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková writes about challenges facing cities today, tracing the concept of urban resilience throughout the last decade, explored in her recently published book (Resilience and Urban Governance).

In the final part of the EUROPEUM series on the Innovation pillar of Horizon Europe, our Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková focuses on the European Innovation Council (EIC), officially launched in March 2021.

Our Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková wrote another article in the new EUROPEUM publication series: 2021–2027 Horizon Europe. In her policy brief, Katarína focuses on the revival of the cultural industry after the pandemic.

Our Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková has written the third article of the new publication series EUROPEUM: 2021–2027 Horizon Europe. In her policy brief, Katarína focuses on the issue of education, which, like many other sectors, underwent a fundamental change during the pandemic. She also presents the Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education program.

Our Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková has written the second article of the new publication series EUROPEUM: 2021–2027 Horizon Europe. In her policy brief, Katarína presents the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) as one of the main components of the Horizon Europe Innovation Pillar and describes its program and objectives.

Our Associate Research Fellow Katarína Svitková wrote the first article for the new EUROPEUM publications series: 2021–2027 Horizon Europe. In a policy brief Katarína summarises the objectives of Horizon 2021-2027 and introduces the "Innovation” pillar of the European Union funding scheme for the following years.