These solutions are based on Earth Observation and focus on five application domains, Energy & Utilities, Sustainable Urban Communities, Agriculture, Forestry and other Land use, Marine and Coastal Environments and Civil Security and Protection. The PROTECT project laid the foundation for joint and/or cross-border Pre-commercial Procurement by creating a community of procurers and a platform for policymakers to gain guidelines and recommendations to boost the increase in the use of Innovation Procurement for climate action.
As the demand and need for climate services are fragmented among European cities and regions, it is important to articulate realistic needs in the climate services market to raise awareness among public and private sectors about the potential of the climate services market.
The PROTECT final event aimed to raise awareness by facilitating discussions with key stakeholders on three main topics.
1. The role Earth Observation plays in assisting local authorities in shaping their climate policies. Representatives from the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, and various Commission representatives, highlighted how Earth Observation impacts public sector initiatives.
2. The role of Innovation Procurement and Pre-commercial Procurement in developing new innovative solutions for climate adaptation. Experts provided insights into the potential Earth Observation data can contribute to new climate services and governance tools highlighting examples of success cases from the European Environmental Agency (EEA).
3. The PROTECT project's achievements and heritage were highlighted. This consists of the Community of Public Buyers, the Earth Observation Based Climate Service Providers Catalogue and the toolkit for awareness raising and capacity building. All these materials can be accessed through the Knowledge Hub and the Community Platform. Furthermore, the upcoming PCP call was introduced. More information about the call will soon be available on the PROTECT website.
The event ended with a long networking session, providing an opportunity for buyers, providers, and other climate adaptation projects like the CLIMAAX project, in which EURADA is also a proud partner, to connect. This aligns perfectly with PROTECT's mission to facilitate joint and cross-border Pre-commercial Procurement and networking in the field of climate change adaptation and mitigation with the aim to encourage widespread adoption and use of climate services based on earth observation.
For more information about the PROTECT project, please visit the website here. Or contact our colleague, Jerome Friedrichs.
