EPA Open Call 2024 to fund Innovative Research Projects – Ireland

The EPA Research Call 2024 will provide up to €14.5m to fund innovative research projects that will support policy- and decision-making addressing environmental, climate change and sustainability challenges. Applications are invited under 13 broad Themes that will address current and emerging policy needs and build capacity in relevant areas. It is envisaged that multiple projects will be supported in each Theme.

Themes

• Addressing Climate Change Evidence Needs
  • Global Risks to Ireland Achieving its Climate and Environmental Goals
    • Maximum Budget: €330,000 Maximum Duration: 24 months
    • Scope
      • Research proposals are invited that explore themes, in the context of Ireland meeting its climate and environmental objectives, including but not limited to:
        • Vulnerabilities to strategic risks (geopolitical, democratic, social, etc.);
        • Critical supply chains and the impact of disruption to these;
        • Critical raw materials essential to the transition to a sustainable economy, e.g., those required for the energy transition, for sustainable agriculture, etc.;
  • Social science, citizen science and behavioural science for climate action
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Innovative research proposals are invited in any of, but not limited to, the following areas:
        • Building on existing research and knowledge, improve understanding of public perception, attitudes, beliefs and values related to climate change in Ireland. This includes studying factors influencing individuals’ acceptance of climate science, perceptions of risk, motivations for action or inaction and barriers to meaningful public participation.
        • Investigating human behaviour and decision-making processes related to climate-related actions, such as energy consumption, transportation choices, waste management, nature restoration and sustainable lifestyle choices.
        • Analysis of public perceptions and attitudes to specific mitigation and adaptation measures or attitudes to the wider decision-making process (such as planning etc.).
  • Understanding vulnerabilities, risks and adaptation measures at the local level
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Innovative research proposals are invited in areas including, but not limited to:
        • Building capability in the area of extreme event attribution and attribution science, identifying tools and methodologies that are most suitable to be used in an Irish context, conduct retrospective analyses of extreme weather events, their social and economic impacts in Ireland and to analyse events as they may occur during the lifetime of a project.
        • Evaluating existing policy frameworks and governance structures at the local and national levels to improve climate action-based decision making.
        • Developing or improving upon methodologies and risk assessment models for better assessing and managing climate risks such as geo-spatial risk maps.
  • Developing Climate Neutral Pathways for Ireland
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Within this theme it is envisaged that research will advance knowledge in the area of developing integrated and cross-sectoral net-zero pathways for Ireland. Innovative proposals are invited in areas including but not limited to:
        • Improving the assessment of Ireland’s current greenhouse gas emissions in an integrated way across all sectors, including energy, transportation, agriculture, industry and waste. Consideration should be given also to the role of methane in assessing emissions, climate neutrality and developing pathways.
        • Identifying key drivers of emissions in each sector, including both direct and indirect contributors in an integrated way. Analysing existing climate policies to identify gaps and opportunities for strengthening measures to support the transition to a climate-neutral economy.
        • Review of definitions and methods used to assess climate neutrality and related greenhouse gas emissions.
• Delivering a Healthy Environment
  • Towards Zero Pollution
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Within this theme, it is envisaged that research proposals will focus on Zero Pollution, advancing knowledge and informing solutions and policies relevant in an Irish context in areas including, but not limited to:
        • Identifying opportunities and priorities for developing and expanding localised and long-term monitoring networks as well as harmonised monitoring approaches. This must build on or complement existing networks or approaces.
        • Modelling sources and drivers of pollution and future trends.
        • Developing metrics and indicators and identification of geographical hot spots of pollution with serious environmental health problems.
  • Chemicals that are safe and sustainable by design
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Research is needed to identify the challenges and opportunities in Ireland of moving to chemicals that are SSbD. Within this theme, innovative research proposals are invited to address key knowledge gaps in areas relevant to the transition to chemicals that are SSbD including, but not limited to:
        • Developing tools, models and data to assist with the systematic assessment of hazardous chemicals across their life cycle, with a focus on restricted chemicals or those likely to be restricted, including those in products and waste, and opportunities for elimination.
        • Exploring the opportunities and impacts of the removal or substitution of hazardous chemicals. Identifying progress by industry to date and future opportunities.
  • Further Understanding the Health Impacts of a Changing Environment
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Within this theme, research proposals will focus on exploring the health impacts of pollution, climate change and/or biodiversity loss. Applicants are particularly encouraged to consider the exposure, risks and impacts for vulnerable groups in Ireland. In this context, it is envisaged that proposals will address knowledge gaps and inform solutions, policies and actions in areas including but not limited to:
        • Establishing links between environmental hazards and health impacts and exploring routes and indicators of exposure and developing metrics.
        • Assessing short- and long-term as well as localised health impacts considering morbidity and mortality.
        • Modelling and predicting emerging and future trends to support decision making, and developing surveillance and early warning systems.
• Facilitating a Green and Circular Economy 
  • Integration of the Circular Economy and Bioeconomy into climate and biodiversity measures
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • Within this theme, innovative research proposals are invited to address knowledge gaps and inform Government policies and initiatives in areas including, but not limited to:
        • The quantification of greenhouse gas emissions associated with Irish waste generation in the priority areas7 and the correlation between the implementation of circular economy policies and legislation, and climate mitigation and adaption, and biodiversity loss mitigation in Ireland.
        • The role of the bioeconomy in reaching GHG emission reduction targets by displacing fossilbased resources with biobased products and biorefineries, while following the cascading biomass use principals.
        • Exploring how the production and use of regenerative materials including nutrients, textiles and construction materials could reduce GHG emissions and biodiversity loss.
  • Enhancing the assessment of materials, products and value chains in the Circular Economy in Ireland
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope
      • It is envisaged that proposals under this theme will build on existing LCA knowledge and analyse the environmental ‘footprints’ but also ‘handprints’ 9 of circular product value chains. Research will focus on (but not limited to):
        • Assessing the whole life cycles of products and materials in key product value chains which include electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles; textiles; packaging; plastics; construction and buildings; food, water and nutrients.
        • Moving beyond traditional LCA and to analyse how circular materials, products and systems can have positive ecological, economic, and social impacts and help companies can achieve sustainability targets. Research should consider beyond the net zero goal of doing no harm, to a regenerative system view of adding something good.
  • Supporting and scaling up the just transition to the Circular Economy
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • In Ireland, the consumption and waste generation has grown steadily since 2012 and we have the third lowest Circular Material Use Rate in Europe at 2% (the EU average is 12%). These statistics highlight the need to support and scale up the transition to a Circular Economy and Bioeconomy in Ireland, to assess how to change product value chains and consumption rates, and to explore how this transition can be managed in a just and equitable way.
    • Scope
      • Research under this theme, will address knowledge gaps and inform Government policies and initiatives in areas such as:
        • The financial incentives and systems required to support industrial transformation, servitisation and consumer behaviour changes.
        • Further development of circular business and collaborative consumption models, infrastructure and social enterprises.
        • Assess the potential socio-economic impacts of the transition to Circular Economy and Bioeconomy at local and regional level and in rural and urban areas.
• Protecting and Restoring our Natural Environment
  • Integrating nature into decision-making
    • Maximum Budget: €330,000 Maximum Duration: 24 months
    • Scope 
      • Innovative proposals are invited that will advance the development, deployment and assessment of approaches to recognise and value nature in public policy in Ireland. Areas of research may include, but are not limited to:
        • Inclusion of ecosystem valuation into innovative policy instruments in Ireland, e.g., in priority areas such as land use and nature restoration.
        • Going beyond ecosystem accounting to derive indicators to facilitate the use of ecosystem accounts in policies.
        • Assessment and disclosure of long-term investment risks associated with climate change, nature degradation and biodiversity loss.
  • Implementing effective protect and restore solutions
    • Maximum Budget: €660,000 Maximum Duration: 48 months
    • Scope 
      • Data, evidence and knowledge gaps remain to allow effective protection and restoration programmes, including actions identified in national plans. Research proposals are invited that explore themes, in the context of Ireland’s capacity to implement effective protect and restore solutions, including but not limited to:
        • Better knowledge to develop, deploy and assess nature-based solutions for multiple benefits.
        • Understanding the impacts of climate change on ecosystems in need of protection or restoration to ensure that the actions selected are effective, sustainable and cost efficient under changing conditions.
        • Understanding the impacts of climate change on existing classification and assessment methodologies against a background of shifting typologies and/or reference conditions.
  • Supporting the transition to sustainable land use planning and management
    • Maximum Budget: €330,000 Maximum Duration: 24 months
    • Scope 
      • Research proposals are invited that explore themes, in the context of Ireland’s transition to sustainable land-use planning and management, including but not limited to:
        • Better understanding of the social and cultural barriers to changing land management practices and transitioning to sustainable land-use, considering coherence of policies, governance and reduction of risks in transition.
        • Development of appropriate integrated models to monitor and track the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of changes in land uses and land management practices.
        • Development of a place-based approach to local citizen engagement and local knowledge coproduction in relation to influencing land use outcomes.

Expected Outputs 

• It is expected that, in their proposal, applicants clearly demonstrate the policy relevance of the outputs of their proposed research; the applicability of their findings; and how these outputs address a knowledge gap and can be efficiently transferred/applied to the implementation of policies. Applicants should clearly demonstrate how their proposed research will provide the evidence to support environmental policy in Ireland, in terms of identifying pressures, informing policy and developing solutions.

For more information, visit Environmental Protection Agency.