Newsletters   Subscription   Contributions       Newsletter issue n° 14 - April 09

Environmental Technologies: what are these for?

By definition environmental technologies include both integrated technologies that prevent pollutants being generated during the production processes, and end-of-pipe technologies that reduce the release into the environment of any pollutants emitted. They can also include new materials, energy and resource efficient production processes as well as environmental know-how. In broader sense any technology that improves on existing environmental performance should be considered as environmental technology. Indeed, environmental technologies are characterised by a high degree of heterogeneity which is very common and diverse in our economy.

Certain groups of green anarchists have seriously criticised the concept of environmental technology. From their viewpoint all the technologies are seen as systems of exploitations rather than a specific tool for protecting the environment. Technology, it is argued, always requires the exploitation of the environment and the extraction of the natural resources. For them "neutral" or "environmentally friendly technology" is a paradox, because things are always created for certain human aims and have been against the functions of the Nature. Therefore, even green technology is rejected as an effort to reform this exploitative system considered as unsustainable level of exploitation although it seems to be environmentally friendly at the first wink.

Because only few of the 6 billion inhabitants of the Globe are willing to follow Diogenes's lifestyle, I am sceptical about the practicalities of green anarchists' attitude, although I cannot fight with their logical arguments... I am sure, we need the environmental technologies not just to remediate what's been destroyed, but all the existing and used technologies should be "greened" for the future. In this context all the technologies would be considered as "environmental" or "environmentally friendly" which are indispensable and (due to innovation) less and less harmful for the Nature. All the research fields (including fundamental research) can and will provide new results as munitions to the green technological developments while environmental technology research is obliged to make applications. There is a huge pressure on Mankind to live in harmony with Nature, while there are many opportunities to do it better in the future than before. We are obliged to maintain most of the existing technologies since we cannot exist without those. From a policy perspective our focus should be taken on the use and potential of environmental technologies throughout the whole economic system.
 

CIP Eco-innovation: First Application and Market Replication Projects

Call identifier: CIP-EIP-ECO-INNOVATION-2009        Closing date: Thursday, 10th September 2009 (electronic submission only until 17:00 Brussels local time)

The initiative CIP1 Eco-innovation First Application and Market Replication Projects (in short: CIP Eco-innovation) is part of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (the EIP) which seeks to support innovation as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. EIP aims at achieving better access to finance for SMEs, at support services for business and innovation delivered through a network of regional centres, at the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation and support for policy-making that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation. The EIP is part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), which aims at encouraging the competitiveness of European enterprises. With SMEs as its main target, CIP also comprises actions encouraging a better take-up and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) and it promotes the increased use of renewable energies and energy efficiency. The call will support projects: (i) Concerned with the first application or market replication of eco-innovative techniques, products, processes or practices, which (ii) have already been technically demonstrated, but (iii) due to remaining risks need incentives to penetrate significantly the market.

CIP Eco-Innovation will also support market oriented activities related to the uptake of environmental technologies and eco-innovative activities by enterprises and the implementation of new or integrated approaches to Eco-Innovation. Projects concerned with land-use management and planning, management of natural areas, urban policies and projects with a public dimension should be presented to the LIFE+ programme and/ or to the 7th RTD framework programme. Projects focusing on increasing the penetration of renewable energies and energy efficiency (including energy in transport) should be presented to the Intelligent Energy Europe programme. Research and technology development, including demonstration projects at an early stage with a high technology risk or projects that develop prototypes, should be submitted to the 7th RTD programme. In its aim of market replication, CIP Eco-innovation should go beyond dissemination, show-casing and training, and the development of software and design tools or pure commercialisation of products. For further information please visit the http://ec.europa.eu/ecoinnovation homepage. The full text of the call is available at the http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eco-innovation/docs/call09/call09_text_en.pdf homepage

Above the threshold: evaluation of the proposals delivered to the FP7-ENV-2009-1 call

Until the deadline of 8th January 2009 for the ENVIRONMENT 2009 call under the FP7 Specific Programme Cooperation published in the Official Journal (OJ C226) on 3rd September 2008 total of 277 project proposals were received in the theme Environment (including Climate Change). The available budget of the call is € 193 500 000 in total.

            Activity / sub-activities                                                                                                             Budget available No. of proposals    No. of proposals Requested EC contribution

                                                                                                                                                               (mEUR)                  delivered           above threshold            (mEUR)

ACTIVITY 6.1. CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION AND RISKS

            Sub-activity 6.1.1                                                                                                                              32,5                       36                            25                           94,6

            Sub-activity 6.1.2                                                                                                                              21,0                       23                              8                           36,6

            Sub-activity 6.1.3                                                                                                                              13,0                       26                            18                           61,9

ACTIVITY 6.2. SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES

            Sub-activity 6.2.1                                                                                                                              27,0                       51                            25                          121,1

            Sub-activity 6.2.2                                                                                                                              22,0                       10                              6                           29,3

ACTIVITY 6.3. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

            Sub-activity 6.3.1                                                                                                                              27,0                        21                           14                           55,8

            Sub-activity 6.3.2                                                                                                                                8,0                        16                             8                           23,9

            Sub-activity 6.3.3                                                                                                                                7,0                        11                             6                           17,9

ACTIVITY 6.4. EARTH OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

            Sub-activity 6.4.1                                                                                                                              20,0                         18                             9                          31,2

            Sub-activity 6.4.2                                                                                                                              12,0                         40                            24                         51,3

ACTIVITY 6.5. HORIZONTAL ACTIONS

            Sub-activity 6.5.1                                                                                                                                4,0                         25                            14                         13,3

                                                                                                                Total                                          193,5                       277                            157                      536,8

After the completion of evaluations in March there are 157 proposals that remain in competition above the threshold. Unfortunately, not all but only the best projects have a chance to get EU grant for the research, because the requested EU contribution is more than double of the budget available. Negotiations for the high ranking proposals and validation of the project partners are scheduled to be finished before the Autumn, and Grant Agreements will likely be contracted before Christmas 2009.

CIP: Environmentally sustainable, economically profitable

European businesses and organisations are addressing the challenge of combining environmental sustainability and economic growth. The European Commission aims at supporting them in this challenge and one recent remarkable initiative is certainly the Eco-Innovation first application & market replication framework, which is part of the EU's Competitiveness & Innovation Programme (CIP). This initiative is especially devoted to bridging the gap between research and the market up-take. From recycling tannery and leather waste to producing green fertilizers to using bamboo to clean up waste water, people are striving to find creative ways of dealing with the vast quantities of waste our lifestyle throws up. Eco-innovation initiative is here to support them. The fundamental aim of furthering “All forms of innovation which reduce environmental impacts and/or optimising the use of resources” is broken down into four strands: materials recycling; buildings; the food and drink sector and greening business including green purchasing and procurement. Of these, recycling was the field which generated most interest in 2008.

The call in 2008 inspired submissions from 444 participants in 32 countries, three quarters of which were from SMEs. Roughly 40 projects from all over Europe succeeded so far in arriving at the final negotiation stage and are thus set to receive the €28 million community finance for this year. The projects shortlisted have certain things in common: (i) They demonstrate a high potential for transfer and replication. Results and methodology are clearly robust and by funding one, the EU seeds the evolution of many; (ii) They are innovative and help to bridge the gap between research and market uptake. The EU needs to accelerate the transformation of good ideas into business and industrial development; (iii) They create clear and substantial environmental benefits such as reduced emissions, waste, hazardous substances and improved resource efficiency; (iv) They are economically viable and address the demands and constraints of (mainly) small and medium sized enterprises. With 23 million SMEs in the EU, representing 99% of all enterprises, this is an important target group. And there is room for environmental improvement: 60-70% of the industrial pollution produced by the EU is linked to SMEs; (v) The projects benefit from being European, rather than national or regional. The way they spread their information, the effect they have, the manner in which they overcome market barriers all have an added value that goes beyond the impact they would have if they were only national. A project that spans different climates or regions is better placed to show that it can be widely replicated.

For 2009, the available funds will stand at about 30 million and the priorities will largely remain the same. For further details on the exact nature of the call 2009, the projects negotiated 2008 and the application material, please visit the eco-innovation website at http://ec.europa.eu/ecoinnovation  

The Environment Council of the European Union urges to combine economic and environmental opportunities

By the conclusions of the Environment Council’s meeting of the European Union (Brussels, 2nd March 2009) it was emphasised that the economic crisis and the policy measures in response to it provide an opportunity to achieve necessary economic reforms and at the same time to speed up reforms towards a safe and sustainable low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. The importance in the current crisis of, inter alia, taking measures to ensure that credit and risk capital are available for the development of eco-technologies, renewable energy sources and recycling activities. The structural reforms promoted through the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs should incorporate policy measures towards a safe and sustainable low-carbon and resource-efficient economy as a priority.

The Environment Council stresses the economic and environmental opportunities provided by the "green" measures in the European Economic Recovery Plan (i.e. modernising Europe's infrastructure; increasing energy efficiency in buildings; facilitating the uptake of "green" products and services) and calls for more rapid action in key areas to foster the shift towards a safe and sustainable low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. The Council looks forward to the rapid adoption and implementation of the elements proposed under the Communication on the Sustainable Consumption Production (SCP) and The Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan (SIP), as appropriate, in order to foster socially, economically and environmentally sustainable consumption and production across Europe. The Council encourages the Commission and the Member States to take forward work aimed at making full use of the potential of eco-design and of a life-cycle approach in supporting eco-innovation and internalising all costs.

The Council reaffirms the importance of environmental technologies as one of the fastest growing markets and a means to both reduce pressure on the environment and improve energy and resource efficiency, as well as to strengthen competitiveness and support job creation, and lastly stresses the need to integrate eco-innovation into all relevant policies so as to promote it rapidly on a broad scale and to provide impetus for the European Economic Recovery Plan.

The Council looks forward to an early presentation by the Commission of its review of the Environmental Technologies Action Plan, preferably during the first semester 2009. The Council welcomes the associated wide-ranging consultation, and emphasises the importance of targeted actions, such as the transfer of, and access to, environmentally sound technologies, in particular as regards developing countries, and of consideration of environmental technology verification. The Council encourages the Commission to examine regulatory frameworks, as well as regulatory barriers and market failures that may hamper the uptake of environmental technologies and further innovation.

The Council reaffirms the need for more sustainable use of natural resources emphasising reductions in the use of materials, while encouraging their reuse, recycling as well as the more sustainable use of renewable raw materials. The Environment Council recognises the importance of fully implementing and enforcing waste and recycling legislation, such as the new Framework Directive on waste adopted in November 2008.

Concerning biodiversity the European Council takes note with great concern about the unfavourable conservation status of the species and habitats, and strongly underlines the urgency of significant additional efforts to reach the EU target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010.

Concerning better regulations the Environment Council underlines that efforts to reduce administrative burden and to simplify legislations at EU and national levels should deliver legislation that not only cuts unnecessary costs for business and others, but achieves better environmental outcomes more efficiently and effectively, for example through enabling streamlining of procedures for implementation and enforcement bodies.

Despite of the economical crises the European Council is committed to further environmental developments

In the presidency conclusions of its meeting in Brussels on 19th and 20th March 2009 the European Council expressed confidence in the ability of the EU to tackle the global financial and economic crisis as one of the most important challenges the EU has ever faced. By acting together, the EU can put its financial sector on a sound footing, get credit flowing to the real economy and protect its citizens from the worst impacts of the crisis. The European Council agreed on the need to improve the regulation and supervision of financial institutions. The European Economic Recovery Plan (adopted last December) will generate new investments, boost demand, create jobs and help the EU move to a low-carbon economy. The renewed Lisbon Strategy, including the current Integrated Guidelines, remains the effective framework for fostering sustainable growth and jobs. The crisis underlines the need to pursue and accelerate structural reforms, which will bolster the credibility and impact of stimulus measures.

The energy security is a key priority which needs to be enhanced by improving energy efficiency, diversifying energy suppliers, sources and supply routes, and promoting the Union's energy interests vis-à-vis third countries. Energy infrastructures and interconnections must be developed. The regular gas crisis has demonstrated the urgent need to establish adequate crisis mechanisms in the EU as well as to work to obtain clear guarantees from suppliers and transit partners that supplies will not be interrupted. The promotion of energy efficiency can make a major contribution to energy security. The European Council therefore calls on the Council to agree, before the end of the year, on the proposals contained in the Energy Efficiency Package and invites the Commission to rapidly propose a revision of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan. Stressing the importance of diversifying sources, fuels and routes of energy supply, the European Council underlines the increasingly important part played by energy in the EU's external relations (e.g. the Caspian gas). The European Council also recalls the need to make the best use of its own energy resources, including renewables, fossil fuels and, in countries which choose to do so, nuclear energy.

The European Union remains committed to play a leading role in combating the climate change. The European Council recalls the EU's commitment to a 30% emission reduction as its contribution to such an agreement provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and that advanced developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and their respective capabilities. The European Council emphasises the importance of building a global carbon market, including a reformed Clean Development Mechanism.

Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) system

Innovative environmental technologies have the potential to decrease pollutant emission, improve the environment and, at the same time, increase the market position of companies. But many of those technologies do not find a way to gain acceptance in the market because the majority of buyers do not trust unproven technologies and therefore choose established products. In order to overcome this hurdles the European Commission is preparing an environmental technology verification (ETV) system. The purpose of ETV is to prove technology performance data by an authorized 3rd party using pre-defined protocols and procedures in order to provide purchasers with information about performance. So, a successful verification should deliver an independent proof that technology performance claims of technology providers is correct and results ease the diffusion of new Environmental sound Technologies (EsT) into the market.

Countries like USA, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines have already established ETV systems while Europe is still in the process of development. Since global change has become more and more important for vendors and purchasers, mutual recognition and international harmonization would bring huge advantages for all sides. The European Commission is funding the international AdvanceETV to increase the acceptance between the systems and create mutual recognition within and beyond Europe. Parties from experienced institutions in the field of ETV from USA, Canada, and all over Europe belong to the AdvanceETV consortium and work strongly together to reach the goals of AdvanceETV. The coordination action is running since January 15th, 2009. The next conference on this topic will be held in Brussels in autumn 2009. Please find more detailed information about the project on the web page www.eu-etv-strategy.eu.

European Parliament: EPP-ED Hearing economic role of heritage in a time of financial crisis, 5 March 2009.

Professor Cristina GUTTIEREZ-CORTNES, member of the European Parliament, organised a hearing on March 5, 2009 on "The economic role of heritage in a time of financial crisis" to which she invited very reputable experts from within and beyond Europe. This hearing demonstrated how cultural heritage, and especially built cultural heritage, can play an important role in stimulating the economy, especially at the local level, and that in view of the "European Economic Recovery Plan", measures linked to maintenance of the built heritage were capable of delivering shorter term and quicker responses than those targeting other infrastructure. The rehabilitation of built cultural heritage is linked to many economic, environmental and socio-cultural issues that should not be underestimated. That is why cultural heritage has an important role to play in helping the building sector survive the negative impact of the economic crisis. The following topics were discussed during the hearing:

(i) Heritage investment: counter cyclical opportunity in economic downturns. Donovan RYPKEMA, Heritage Strategies International, USA, stressed how cultural heritage plays an important role in sustainable economic development through: the use of local assets, the involvement of the private sector (especially small businesses), the preservation of cultural heritage within a global economy, the contribution to quality of life, the enhancement of environmental, social and cultural responsibility.

(ii) Cultural heritage conservation: an economic perspective. Dr Romilda RIZZO, Department of economics and quantitative methodology, University of Catania, Italy, demonstrated that government action involving direct and indirect intervention (public spending, tax-expenditure and regulation, public-private ownership mix) can promote heritage conservation. She also underlined the economic importance of conservation of cultural heritage, in terms of income and employment, because it represents a locally based, labour intensive activity which is susceptible to investments of various scale. Cultural heritage can be regarded as strategic for the development of tourism, even if the impact of the crisis on tourism cannot be neglected. Education about the value of heritage is also crucial in order to guarantee long term sustainability of the conservation effort.

(iii) Heritage restoration: an opportunity for the SMEs. Dr Edmundo WERNA, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland, underlined the labour intensive character of the restoration of built heritage and the challenges that this sector presents for SMEs. This activity cannot be delocalised as it is highly knowledge-dependant and associated to local resources.

These presentations were followed by an exchange of views and experiences relating to the use of built cultural heritage in times of economic crisis. Examples came from Norway, Cap Verde, Spain and Germany. All of them demonstrated the beneficial impact of cultural heritage and its preservation/rehabilitation on the local economy.

Report on final MBR-Network workshop “Salient outcomes of the European R&D projects on MBR technology”, 31 March – 1 April 2009, Berlin, Germany

On behalf of MBR-Network, the coalition of research projects dedicated to MBR technology financed by the European Commission, the Berlin Centre of Competence for Water organised the final project workshop “Salient outcomes of the European R&D projects on MBR technology”. This event was kindly endorsed by the International Water Association, sponsored by Veolia Water, and supported by the European Membrane Society, the European Membrane House and the European Desalination Society. More than 220 international participants attended the workshop, which made it certainly one of the most successful and most attended events dedicated to the MBR process in the history of this advanced treatment technology. The workshop started by a session of key-note lectures held by international speakers: Prof. R. Ben-Aim (Chaiman of IWA Specialist Group "Membrane Technologies"), M. Schouppe (European Commission, Research Directorate), Prof. N. Cicek (University of Manitoba, Canada), Prof. T. Fane (Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, NTU) and Prof. C.-H. Lee (Seoul National University, South Korea). A very honourable guest kindly hold the closing lecture of the workshop: Prof. K. Yamamoto (University of Tokyo, Japan), the inventor of the submerged MBR technology some 20 years ago.

MBR-Network is a coalition of four major research projects financed by the European Commission, all entirely dedicated to further development of the membrane based process for advanced wastewater treatment. These projects engage about 50 European and international companies and institutions and will be completed by the end of the year 2009 after more than 3 years of intensive activity. They have generated significant technological breakthroughs, and key know-how which further improved the competitiveness and acceptance of this innovative wastewater treatment process. The results of fundamental and applied research were unveiled by the project partners and international delegates in about 40 oral presentations and many posters. In addition, other groups and companies versed in the MBR field presented their projects, outcomes and products in posters. All aspects of the MBR technology were covered during the workshop sessions: membrane fouling characterisation and monitoring, membrane fouling control and cleaning, process modelling and control, novel European MBR technologies, process integration and new processes, and full-scale implementations, economics and market. The proceedings and the presentations of the workshop can be downloaded from the MBR-Network website: www.mbr-network.eu/mbr-projects/downloads-common.php

FP6 TECHNEAU Conference • Safe Drinking Water from Source to Tap • State-of-the-Art and Perspectives, 17-19 June 2009, Maastricht

The TECHNEAU consortium, co-funded by the European Commission, IWA and WML (Waterleiding Maatschappij Limburg) are organising the TECHNEAU Conference on "Safe Drinking Water from Source to Tap: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives" which will be held 17-19 June 2009 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, at the Hotel Crowne Plaza. TECHNEAU is currently the largest European research project in the drinking water sector. The conference will provide a leading podium for those professionals concerned with drinking water challenges and adaptive strategies. TECHNEAU, in cooperation with other research programmes in Europe and beyond, will present state-of-the art and breakthroughs on water treatment technologies, sensors and monitoring and water systems simulation and operations. The conference will also address small scale systems, risk assessment and risk management and consumer issues. Special attention is given to the implementation of research outcomes in practice. Workshops and field trips will allow participants to contribute actively. One of the workshops serves to shape the WSSTP research agenda on water treatment technologies.  More information can be found at the http://www.techneau.org/index.php?id=45 website. You may register through through the web portal http://www.techneau.org/index.php?id=142 of the Conference.

REJUVENATE Conference: Brownfields, Renewables, Carbon and Recycling Organic Matter, 26th May 2009, University of Reading, Reading UK

The European "Rejuvenate" project investigated the feasibility of a range of possible approaches to combining risk based land management (RBLM) with non-food crop land uses and organic matter reuse as appropriate. It developed a decision support tool to identify marginal land for biomass reuse opportunities in the UK, Germany and Sweden; assessed how verification of their performance might be carried out, and identified what requirements remain for future research, development and demonstration. Rejuvenate includes partners from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden and began in October 2008. It is funded, under the umbrella of an ERA-Net SNOWMAN , by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency (England), FORMAS (Sweden) and Bioclear BV (Netherlands). The EU ERA-Net SNOWMAN is a network of national funding organisations and administrations providing research funding for soil and groundwater bridging the gap between knowledge demand and supply (http://www.snowman-era.net). It is one of more than 70 ERA-Nets (European Research Area-Networks) funded by the EC's 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. Speakers at the conference will be from the Rejuvenate team, Environment Agency, The Energy Crops Company, the BioRegen project, Ecosecurities Ltd, C-Cure Solutions (Forest Research and University of Surrey) and the Homes and Communities Agency. The conference will also be linked via web cast to speakers from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Talks will be on the kinds of products that can be produced from biomass, the wider green remediation opportunity using renewables to pay for land management and reduce fossil fuel dependence; the opportunity for linkage between biomass re-use of land and initiatives for green remediation, sustainable construction and carbon neutral housing and pro's and con's for green remediation. For more information please check the http://www.organics-recycling.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=327:rejuvenate-conference&catid=events-listings homepage.

Membrane Technology Conference & Exhibition 2009: 5th IWA Specialised Membrane Technology Conference for Water and Wastewater Treatment, 1 - 3 September 2009 Beijing, P. R. China

Membrane technology has become a dignified separation technology over the past decade. The main advantage of membrane technology is the fact that it works without the addition of chemicals, with a relative low energy use and easy and well-arranged process conductions. Membrane technology is a generic term for a number of different, and very characteristic separation processes. These processes are of the same kind, because in each of them a membrane is used. Membranes are used more and more often for the creation of processing water from groundwater, surface water or wastewater. Membranes are now competitive for conventional techniques. For advancing knowledge and experience in the utilization of membrane technology for water and wastewater treatment.IWA-MTC2009, which is jointly organized by IWA and Tsinghua University, will be held in Beijing from 1st to 3rd September, 2009. It will provide an excellent forum for scientists and professionals working in the membrane sector of the water industry to present their work and enlighten the ways to thinking membrane each other and the Exhibition will be also performed for refreshing our mind in application of membrane technology. You can find further information at the  http://www.iwa-mtc2009.org/ homepage and you can download the second announcement of the Conference IWA-MTC 2009 Second Announcement.pdf for updating your image of this event.

From Research to Business. Conference of the Forest–based Industry Technology Platform (FTP), Stockholm, Sweden, 9-11 November 2009

From research to business is the theme for the FTP Conference organised in Stockholm on 9-11^th November, 2009. Based on the theme, a large number of fruitful research results that are presently used or close to be implemented by the sector will give the participants best examples and introduce on how to make business out of research. In difficult economical situation it is even more important to realise the possibilities research offers to successful innovation and for enhanced businesses. More than 20 presentations of research results that are presently used or close to be implemented by the sector will give the participants of the conference best examples and introduce on how to make business out of research, meaning how to transform knowledge into market values. The invitation to the FTP conference is issued by FTP Chairman Magnus Hall and FTP Director Kimmo Kalela. The conference chairman Magnus Hall says: “I am looking forward chairing the conference with such a large number of competent speakers. It will be the most utmost important meeting place in 2009”. Key note speeches will be given by Eskil  Erlandsson, the Swedish Minister for Forestry and Director Marcus Wallenberg. Session leaders are Lars Gädda, Angeles Blanco, Konstantin von Teuffel, and Teresa Presas. The speakers in the different sessions will be announced in the near future. For more information and registration please check the web site: www.FTPC2009.se

EEA signals 2009 Key environmental issues facing Europe, ISBN: 978-92-9167-381-0, ISSN: 1831-2772, DOI 10.2800/52418

'Signals' is published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) at the start of each year and provides snapshot stories on issues of interest both to the environmental policy debate and the wider public for the upcoming year. Finding, reading and understanding the range of ‘signals’ regarding the health and diversity of our environment is at the heart of what we do. Signals respects the complexity of the underlying science and shows awareness of the uncertainties inherent in all of the issues we address. Signals is published in all 26 EEA languages, it takes a story-based approach to help us better communicate with this diverse group of people. The eight stories addressed are not exhaustive but have been selected on the basis of their relevance to the current environmental policy debate in Europe. They address priority issues of climate change, nature and biodiversity, the use of natural resources and health. Downloadable at the http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/signals-2009

The Clean Technology Report

A groundbreaking Report on Ontario’s clean technology industry done by OCETA and the Russell-Mitchell Group, in collaboration with Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and the Ontario Government, found that Ontario’s clean technology industry is poised for growth, and is comprised of companies that manufacture, develop and sell competitive products. Despite this promise, these companies face key challenges in becoming globally competitive - including lack of growth capital, weak domestic demand, and a small pool of management experienced in product commercialization. Global demand for clean technologies has grown substantially in the last five years. This growth is being driven by rising energy and water costs, concerns with climate change and public demand for environmental protection. Global investment in clean technologies is also increasing at a rapid rate and is the fastest growing area of venture capital investment. In 2008, global venture capital investments in clean technology companies were approximately $US 8.4 billion globally, up 38% from $6.1 billion in 2007.

The Report found that in order for Ontario clean technology companies to capture a greater global market share, they need to increase their spending in product commercialization by between 50 and 100 percent. They also need to be more strategic and intentional about growth. The overall goals of The Clean Technology Report are to: (i) Explore the product commercialization capacity of the clean technology industry in Canada; (ii) Identify the structural and economic barriers to commercial success faced by Canadian-based clean technology companies; (iii) Quantify the domestic and global market potential for clean technology solutions (iv) Build the sales and marketing capacity of Canadian clean technology companies; (v) Develop and share the commercialization best practices and strengths of Canadian-based clean technology companies; (vi) Showcase Canadian-based clean technology companies who are moving from technology development and demonstration, to product commercialization and market development; (vii) Profile leading clean technology companies whose strategic intent is to become global market players and who are moving into the market entry and market volume phases of their business; (viii) Support policy-makers, investors, service providers and clean technology company managers to improve the likelihood of commercial success of Canadian companies.

The Report recommends key measures to enhance Ontario’s clean technology industry, including: improving commercialization capacity; creating access to more equity capital; and driving domestic demand. These measures will help make the industry more competitive, create high-paying jobs, and contribute to Ontario’s and Canada’s economic prosperity. The 2009 OCETA SDTC Cleantech Growth & Go-to-Market Report is available at http://cleantechnologyreport.ca/pdfs/TheCleanTechnologyReport-2009-HR.pdf 

Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration by Hale W. Thurston, Matthew T. Heberling, Alyse Schrecongost. Publisher: CRC Press,  ISBN: 978-1-4200-9262-2

Whether addressing pollution problems or helping protect a specific use, watershed associations are finding that the competition for funds is getting harder. A handbook for advocates and stakeholders, Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration provides guidance to those who are interested in understanding and incorporating economic valuation in project prioritization and other decision-making aspects of stream or watershed restoration. It provides basic background on the types of ecological goods and services that are often valued, and details the types of questions that must be asked in watershed project analysis. It allows those who are not economists to be comfortable discussing things like contingent valuation, marginal costs, nonmarket goods, and other terms needed to satisfy the economic analysis requirements often needed to secure funding for projects. In some cases, economic analysis does require input from a trained economist, but in many cases the analysis needed to get a grip on the problem that can be tackled by someone familiar with the situation, as long as he or she has access to essential economic guidance (http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781420092622)

Slope Stability and Erosion Control: Ecotechnological Solutions by J.E. Norris, A. Stokes, S.B. Mickovski, E. Cammeraat, R. van Beek, B.C. Nicoll and A. Achim. Publisher: Springer, ISBN 978-1-4020-6675-7

This book is designed to assist the civil and geotechnical engineer, geomorphologist, forester, landscape architect or ecologist in choosing ecotechnological solutions for slopes that are prone to a variety of mass movements e.g. shallow failure or erosion. In this book, the ‘engineer’ is used in the global sense to encompass all planners, designers, etc. who are involved in the stabilisation of slopes. We review the types of problematic slopes that may occur and describe briefly the nature of mass movements and the causes of these movements. In this book, we focus on the use of vegetation to stabilize soil on slopes prone to mass movements. Before a plant can be chosen for a particular function, its physical and hydrological properties must be determined, thus the root architecture of grasses, shrubs and trees are described and the soil hydrological and mechanical factors which influence vegetation are discussed. Depending on the use of the slope, the engineer may wish to ascertain either the stability of the slope or the mechanical stability of the vegetation or both, therefore slope stability analysis methods are reviewed and the contribution the vegetation has to the stability of the slope are explained. Models to assess the... more on http://springer.com/978-1-4020-6675-7

Nanotechnology Applications for Clean Water by Mamadou Diallo, Jeremiah Duncan, Nora Savage, Anita Street and Richard Sustich. Publisher: Elsevier, ISBN-13: 978-0-8155-1578-4

The World Health Organization in 2004 estimated approximately 1.1 billion people did not have access to clean water and that 35% of Third World residents died from water-borne illnesses. While the situation is grim, recent advances strongly indicate that many of the current water quality problems can be addressed – and potentially resolved – using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is already having a dramatic impact on research in water quality and Nanotechnology Applications for Clean Water highlights both the challenges and the opportunities for nanotechnology to positively influence this area of environmental protection. Here you will find detailed information on breakthroughs, cutting edge technologies, current research, and future trends that may affect acceptance of widespread applications. The first four parts of the book cover specific topics including using nanotechnology for clean drinking water in both large scale water treatment plants and in point-of-use systems. For instance, recent advances show that many of the current problems involving water quality can be addressed using nanosorbents, nanocatalysts, bioactive nanoparticles, nanostructured catalytic membranes, and nanoparticle enhanced filtration. The book also discusses existing technologies and future potential for groundwater remediation, pollution prevention, and sensors. The final part discusses the inherent societal implications that may affect acceptance of widespread applications.... more at the http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/715798/description#description

WILDLAND FIRES AND AIR POLLUTION by Andrzej Bytnerowicz, Michael Arbaugh, Allen Riebau and Christian Andersen. Publisher: ELSEVIER, ISBN-13: 978-0-08-055609-3

The interaction between smoke and air pollution creates a public health challenge. Fuels treatments proposed for National Forests are intended to reduce fuel accumulations and wildfire frequency and severity, as well as to protect property located in the wild land-urban interface. However, prescribed fires produce gases and aerosols that have instantaneous and long-term effects on air quality. If fuels treatment are not conducted, however, then wild land fires become more severe and frequent causing worse public health and welfare effects. A better understanding of air pollution and smoke interactions is needed in order to protect the public health and allow for socially and ecologically acceptable use of fire as a management tool. This text offers such an understanding and examines innovative wide-scale monitoring efforts, and development of models predicting spatial and temporal distribution of air pollution and smoke resulting from forests fires and other sources (http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/716396/description#description) 

FP6 PROMOTE: A verification approach for monitoring and remediation technologies in soil and groundwater systems. Bringing innovation to the market.

Bringing innovation to the market is a challenge for the environmental technology sector. Many new environmental technologies lack proven information on their performance under real or field conditions. This makes it difficult for their manufacturers, especially SME to convince first customers. The European Commission is preparing a EU-wide voluntary system offering credible verification of the performance of innovative and new technologies: Environmental Technology Verification (ETV). Verification is to be understood as the independent quantitative assessment of the performance of an environmental technology, based on performance claims and pre-determined protocols. Funded within FP6 PROMOTE outlines requirements and protocols for verification of site characterisation, monitoring and remediation technologies for soil and groundwater. Just in time for the upcoming European ETV system PROMOTE provides (i) A verification procedure, tailored to soil and groundwater investigation and remediation, (ii) Generic protocols for all steps of the procedure, (iii) First reference reports on verified technologies.

Manifold consultations with stakeholders and the pilot verifications result in recommendations for the European ETV system. Some key messages are: (i) ETV must be voluntary, because a mandatory system may hinder innovation; (ii) A link between ETV and the BREF documents should be established; (iii) A European system must be time and cost efficient; (iv) ETV should help opening markets – in Europe and beyond; (v) Overcoming the language barrier is a major factor for a successful European ETV system; (vi) Financial support in verification is mainly important for SMEs. To bridge the time until the European ETV system is fully operable, PROMOTE has elaborated guidelines for the performance verification as the CEN Workshop Agreement 32: Environmental technology verification – Soil and groundwater site characterization, monitoring and remediation technologies. The FP6 project PROMOTE - Efficiency control and performance verification of improved approaches for soil-groundwater protection and rehabilitation - expired successfully in November 2008. The outcomes of the project can be found on the web page www.promote-etv.org.

FP6 MEDINA: Membrane-Based Desalination: An Integrated Approach

The main aim of the project is to improve the overall performance of membrane-based water desalination process by applying an innovative approach based on the integration of different membrane operations in the reverse osmosis (RO) pre-treatment and post-treatment stages according to the philosophy of Process Intensification. In the pre-treatment steps, the integration of different tools (such as water quality characterisation, membrane cleaning strategies, selection of the most appropriate pre-treatment processes) leads to the minimisation of membrane replacement needs, thereby reducing the operating costs. In the RO post-treatment stages, the presence of Membrane Contactors (MC) and/or Membrane Distillation (MD) and/or Membrane Crystallizer (MCr) and/or Wind Intensified Enhanced Evaporation (WAIV) working on the brine streams offers the possibility to produce more fresh water thus increasing water recovery factor of current desalination plants, reducing brine disposal problem and approaching the concept of “zero-liquid-discharge”, ”total raw materials utilization” and “low energy consumption”.

Meeting in the Negev Desert (Israel) on September 2008, in the course of which the project teams presented the main results achieved in the first two years of research activities. In particular, various analytical protocols and surrogate bench-scale tests to quantify the quality of pre-treated water prior to application of RO in terms of fouling potential with respect to particulate/colloidal fouling, natural organic matter (NOM) fouling, biological fouling (biofouling) and inorganic fouling or scaling have been developed and compared; membrane autopsies for understanding fouling causes on RO membranes used for sea or brackish water desalination have been performed; different membrane chemical cleaning strategies based on the nature of fouling have been compared and optimized; different pre-treatment methods such as MF, UF, MBR, NF, PAC adsorption and ferric chloride (FeCl3) flocculation were evaluated in terms of their capability in removing seawater organic matter and the characteristics of the foulants on the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membranes; several micro-porous hydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation systems have been prepared and characterized; a software to describe and simulate VMD (Vacuum Membrane Distillation) for high salt concentrations has been developed; results on the performance of membrane crystallization and wind intensified enhanced evaporation for reducing the volume of concentrates and recovering the dissolved solid salts in the form of high-purity crystals have been presented; different experimental solar systems (cylindro-paraboloid concentrator, vacuum multi-tubes captor) that could be further used to design membrane solar captors have been realised; the requirements of an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessments) study for membrane desalination plants have been investigated, starting from existing general EIA frameworks and manuals, which have been adjusted to membrane desalination plants; the analysis of the relevant impact of membrane desalination plants is in progress.

At the moment twenty-six deliverables have been already prepared by the project partners and are available on MEDINA web-site ( http://medina.unical.it ). Before the end of MEDINA project (October 2009 - January 2010), the results achieved in the RO pre-treatment and post-treatment stages will be incorporated in an integrated membrane-based desalination system in order to analyse how the single and the overall performance will change because of the synergic interaction.

Fp6 ProMEMBRANE: Promotion and Focussing of current research activities of Membrane Technology in Water Treatment in the Mediterranean Region

The Fp6 ProMembrane research project has successfully been concluded in August 2008. The partner Countries of the project were: Germany (the TTZ Bremerhaven Institute was the coordinator), Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine and Syria. The final meeting was held in Italy, organised by the Institute of Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR). Important deliverables on the application in Mediterranean Countries of membrane technology for water treatment have been produced, mapping and assessing the on-going research. Furthermore, recommendations for the future road for research and development have been highlighted. The awareness on membrane technology in Mediterranean Countries has been also increased through the organisation of specific events of dissemination, such as two regional fairs (in Egypt and in Syria) and an international conference in Sfax (Tunisia). Moreover, during the events, Yong Scientific Awards (YSA) have been included, to encourage young researchers working on membrane technology. Detailed information is available at the homepage of the project http://www.promembrane.info/

FP6 NeWATER: New Approaches to Adaptive Water Management under Uncertainty

During its 50 months, the project NeWater has worked strongly on fostering a stepwise process of change in water management towards more adaptive systems. Seven river basins (Amudarya, Elbe, Guadiana, Nile, Orange, Rhine and Tisza) were selected as case study areas- and close collaborations between stakeholders, researchers and other experts were established there. To facilitate the access to the manifold results (over 200 deliverables on tools and concepts), NeWater’s Synthesis Products summarize key aspects of Adaptive Water Management: the implementation for a comprehensive management and transition framework; uncertainty; climate and water adaptation; water resources scenarios; vulnerability and adaptive capacity; and approaches to participatory management. In the focus of NeWater was also to present the results by way of appealing material to water managers, policy makers, e.g. through linking up with the WISE-RTD or the GWP websites. NeWater strongly supported capacity building in the river basins, also beyond the project’s duration: the Online Curriculum, the NeWater Guidebook and a set of training material are summarizing NeWater experience here. A comprehensive overview on the most relevant results for water managers and water policy makers is given in the brochure “Adaptive Integrated Water Resources Management (AWM): Explicitly addressing today’s challenges“. This brochure has been printed and is available for download in English. It is currently translated into German, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Czech, Ukranian, Hungarian and Spanish, addressing all case study basins directly. Please check http://www.newater.info/everyone homepage for all project results.

FP6 MULTIENCODE: Multifunctional Encoding System for Impact Assessment of Movable Cultural Heritage

The main objective of the project is the development of a prototype system and a methodology to perform a systematic procedure for the routine structural impact assessment of movable artworks over periods of time. The aim has been achieved during the EC project MULTIENCODE through the elaboration of interferometric encoding techniques which can provide highly moderated resolution in self-encoded and environmentally correlated structural data. Participating institutions are: (i) Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) Heraklion, Crete, Greece; (ii) ITO Institut für Technische Optik, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany; (iii) Centre Spatial de Liège, Liège Science Park, Liège, Belgium; (iv) OPTRION, Spatiopôle, Liège, Belgium; (v) Conservation Department, National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens, Greece; (vii) Conservation Department, Tate, Millbank, London, UK.

The main deliverables of the project proposed: (i) Standard protocols developed, tested and concluded to generate the self-encoded signals from the artwork which are used as “signatures” to verify the state of its authenticity and impact versus time resulted in the Impact Assessment Procedure (IAP); (ii) Dedicated hybrid instrumentation and peripherals designed, developed and tested and to overcome the various artwork measurement limitations produced the Impact Detection System (IDS); (iii) Dedicated software developed to assist the measurement procedure and to provide efficient automation in post-processing and archiving of the self-encoded signals termed as signatures; (iv) A database where details of artwork and investigation parameters with measured signatures are stored is provided as part of the system. The database can only be accessed by an authorised operator of the IDS system; (v) Transportable and user friendly novel conservation instrument accompanied with new, repeatable and safe to operate practices; (vi) Envisaged impact detection system and method is for the first time introduced to Cultural Heritage research and application worldwide for universal use; (vii) Know-how transfer to other fields of science, technology and industrial applications sector is also possible since the concept is new to all disciplines involved in impact detection research. The system is available for hands-on testing upon request to the coordinator:  vivitor@iesl.forth.gr

FP6 EFORWOOD: Sustainability Impact Assessment of the Forestry-Wood Chain

The key strategies of the European Union call for a systematic assessment of the impacts of policies on the Forestry-Wood Chain (FWC), as well as the impacts of the future development of the FWC in all three dimensions of sustainability – economic, environmental and societal. Decision makers dealing with forest-based sector issues, be it in government or industry, need comprehensive, reliable, timely and policy-relevant information to respond to changes and changing demands. The EFORWOOD project provides such methods and tools that will, for the first time, integrate Sustainability Impact Assessment of the whole European FWC, by quantifying the performance of the FWC, using indicators for all three pillars of sustainability. The project main product is ToSIA (Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment), a unique decision-support tool which covers the entire FWC, from forest resources to forest-based products and services, and including the re-use and recycling of materials. ToSIA can be used to identify hot-spots in value chains that can contribute to improved sustainability. It is designed to answer ‘what if’ questions such as what will happen if there are changes in markets, changes to oil prices, etc. The recent annual project evaluation by independent evaluators, appointed by the European Commission, scored the project ‘good to excellent,’ showing that EFORWOOD is well on track to delivering the expected results. The main project achievements so far have been in the development of the ToSIA application, case study design, database and model development, scenario design and the selection of sustainability indicators.  The successful integration of sustainability impact evaluation methods - multi-criteria analysis (MCA), cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-efficiency analysis (CEA) has also been achieved.

The recent Commission evaluation highlighted the positive impact that the project will have on the development of the forest-based sector in the EU by providing policy makers, industry and stakeholders with a tool to strengthen the contribution of the forest-based sector towards a more sustainable Europe, and by offering new information in bringing together forest management and wood production with multiple wood processing flows, including wood energy, in one single market oriented value chain. This will be done by facilitating social dialogue and information exchange between the key players of the sector, assisting the forest-based sector in its strategies to adapt to and mitigate climate change, providing knowledge for risk management in forestry and associated industries, identifying the impacts of changes in the European FWC on regions outside Europe, in particular developing countries, identifying potential ways to improve the level of FWCs sustainability and providing the SIA tool for whole FWC chain.

During the three-year of the EFORWOOD project so far, an intensive dialogue has taken place with industrial and other stakeholders. This was especially intensive during 2008, when a number of road-shows took place in Europe and beyond. The aim of the road-shows was to increase awareness and understanding of project impacts and to get input/feedback on project developments from key stakeholders. Interested parties will find the relevant information on the project web site at www.eforwood.com. The project is hosting its final scientific conference in Uppsala on 23rd and 24th September 2009.

FP6 CHEF: Cultural Heritage Protection Against Flooding

The main target of the FP6 CHEF: Cultural Heritage Protection Against Flooding project is the development of preventive conservation strategies and the identification of appropriate measures for the mitigation of flood related damage. Clear recommendations will be provided through the project results. CHEF proposes the integration of multidisciplinary research as scientific support to European policies. Further information is available at the home page http://www.chef.bam.de/en/index.htm of the project. The 5th regular project meeting was held on 26th and 27th of March 2009 in Innsbruck. The main achievements of the second period are: (i) 3 out of 6 technical work packages are finished or near completion, major achievements are available; (ii) Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage against flooding has been described and damage has been classified; (iii)  Concepts to include Cultural Heritage and its vulnerability in risk maps have been described; (iv) Laboratory and on-site research about damage mechanisms has taken place for materials, movable objects and sites. Threshold levels for damage on Cultural Heritage are currently under investigation; (v) Measures, treatments and restoration methods have been compiled for both movable and immovable Cultural Heritage; (vi) two Workshops with end-user involvement have been organised (in Genoa and in Prague).

The project results are currently reviewed for input into the final guidelines and recommendations to be issued at the end of the project. This will include most of the deliverables. Already available deliverables are: (i) Interfaces to running flood and Cultural Heritage projects; (ii) Report on experiences from previous and historic floods; (iii) Report on the state of the art of risk assessment; (iv) Report on legislation and risk mapping initiatives at the national level; (v) Damage catalogue related to exposure data and containing applicability tips for remedial works – part immoveable heritage and sites; (vi) Report on damage mechanisms at historical sites (results from experimental and theoretical investigations) (Innovation); (vii) Guidelines on the application of non-destructive, minor destructive measurement methods and laboratory testing for flood prone historical sites including validation reports; (viii) Guideline on preventive and temporary measures for protection of Cultural Heritage against flooding

FP6 TESTNET: Towards European Sectorial Networks for Environmental Technologies

It has been found that on European level one of the most problematic barriers for market introduction of environmentally sound technologies is the lack of independent information and selection tools for these technologies. On the other hand, the market for environmentally sound technologies is seen as one of the opportunities to improve the environmental conditions combined with an enforcement of competitiveness and innovation. One of the very potential tools to support and boost this mechanism is a verification system for these environmentally sound technologies. This will enable users to access to independent information about the performance of technologies, thus reducing uncertainty for application and lowering the threshold for selection. The main objective of the project is to search for a break-trough in this impasse by drawing up a verification system that gives confidence to the stakeholders about the performance of the environmental. The activities of TESTNET are especially focussed on water technologies and cleaner production with the related monitoring technologies. In this way the uptake of environmental technologies will be boosted and the market will grow in short term to a mature status.

The main approach of TESTNET is to develop appropriate, transparent and independent verification process for environmentally sound technologies that serve the industry and the EU society in large. As a basis for this verification process TESTNET has identified the promising environmental technologies and has carried out a market research on these technologies. Also the proposed verification procedure is validated by applying it on a number of selected technology cases in the real practice. Involvement and participation of relevant stakeholders was crucial. Therefore, for each of the selected technology areas a stakeholder group is formed. These groups consist of all kind of stakeholders such as purchasers, users, vendors, developers, permitters, engineering consultants, environmental and consumer organisations, financiers, underwriters and other relevant experts.

The main results of the TESTNET project are the following: (i) Future Outlook studies on Water Technology and Cleaner Production are produced many fact sheets on innovative production technologies; (ii) Seven pilot verification cases are carried out and evaluated. The evaluation results are taken up in the proposed Verification Procedure and the final proposal is presented to the stakeholders and the involved EU representatives; (iii) A Business Plan of the proposed ETV system is composed and defined. The stakeholder involvement is organised and intensified by organising seminars in both the sectors of Water Technology and Cleaner Production; (iv) The results of the project were disseminated in a Final Conference (at 15 and 16 September 2008 in Brussels) for all the stakeholders. Also 6 Newsletters are edited and an adapted version of the project Booklet with the final results of the project is produced and distributed among the stakeholders. More information is available at the TESTNET website: www.est-testnet.net

European Commission, Directorate-General Research                                                                   http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/research/index_en.html

European Commission, Directorate-General Environment:                                                                        http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm  

European Commission, Joint Research Centre:                                                                             http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm 

Environmental Technologies. European Environment Agency, Denmark:                                               http://technologies.ew.eea.europa.eu/

Green Pages - The Global Directory for Environmental Technology:                                                       http://www.eco-web.com/

EUGRIS. Portal for soil and water management in Europe:                                                                    http://www.eugris.info  

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC):  http://www.unep.or.jp/

US Environmental Technology Opportunities Portal (ETOP):                                                            http://www.epa.gov/etop/index.html

Environmental Expert:                                                                                                               http://www.environmental-expert.com/index.aspx

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EDITOR:

European Commission

DG Research, Unit I03

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e-mail : Laszlo.Szendrodi@ec.europa.eu            Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged