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High resolution assessment of air quality and health in Europe under different climate mitigation scenarios
No full textClimate change mitigation policies lower greenhouse gas emissions and generally reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, hereby bringing health co-benefits. Yet, the spatial and distributional air quality co-benefits in Europe of such policies are not fully understood. Here, We quantify premature mortality from air pollution in 1366 regions of Europe for different scenarios obtained from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6. We model PM2.5 concentrations at high spatial resolution and then combine it with population data and regional age structure and total mortality, to calculate attributable deaths. We find that the share of the European population meeting WHO (World Health Organization) guideline value for PM2.5 could exceed 90% by 2100 under the most ambitious scenario, while less than 10% under the least ambitious one. Corresponding premature deaths in Europe would total 67,000 (95% CI: 13,000–141,000) per year by the end of the century compared to 282,000 (95% CI: 202,000–364,000).JRC.C.5 - Clean Air and Climat
Harmonizing soil pollution data and knowledge in Europe: a collaborative effort towards achieving healthy soils by 2050
Get PDFSoil pollution is a significant environmental issue in Europe, driven by various factors such as industrial activity, urban areas, transport sector, agriculture, and hazards and military activities. Comprehensive, EU-wide large-scale assessments of soil pollution are scarce, and most data at the EU scale originate from the LUCAS topsoil surveys. The impacts of soil pollution in Europe are multifaceted and far-reaching, posing significant challenges to environmental sustainability, public health, and socioeconomic well-being. A comprehensive approach to harmonization and standardization of soil pollution data is essential for effective policy-making, decision-support, and sustainable land management. To support this effort, a specific soil dataset template has been proposed to provide a comprehensive framework for assessing soil contamination and health, encompassing various aspects of soil evaluation. The European Soil Observatory (EUSO) and the CEN/TC 444 technical committee are working to develop standards for soil quality and pollution monitoring. This document presents the outcomes of several projects on soil pollution, including the SoilWise, ISLANDR, EDAPHOS, ARAGORN, and BENCHMARKS projects, which aim to develop innovative solutions for soil pollution monitoring and remediation. The document concludes that data harmonization and standardization are crucial for effective soil pollution management and that a comprehensive approach is needed to address the complex issue of soil pollution in Europe.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom
Small-World Networks, Dynamics and Proximity in Investment Decisions
Get PDFUsing deal-level micro data from the Dealroom database, we construct a dynamic co-investment syndication network to examine the influence of cultural proximity and geospatial proximity between investors and start-ups, as well as the network position of global VC firms on investment decisions in European-based start-ups. By applying a linear probability regression model with high-dimensional fixed effects over the period 2015-2022, we confirm that both cultural and spatial proximity significantly facilitate VC investment. Moreover, our analysis reveals that a prominent network position — characterized by how well-connected (degree centrality) and how influential (Katz centrality) within the co-investment network— substantially enhances VC investments on account of the facilitated sharing of information, contacts, and resources among investors.
Furthermore, our findings reveal that small-world networks, characterized by high clustering coefficients, facilitate investments in distant start-ups, helping to overcome spatial constraints—an aspect largely overlooked in the literature. Small-world syndication networks foster trust among members, complementing each other through differentiation and specialization in industrial knowledge and local markets, potentially altering risk-averse behaviour and enabling investments that transcend geographical boundaries.JRC.B.6 - Industrial strategy, skills and technology transfe
Feasibility study of measures to incentivise improved textile waste management with a long term perspective
Get PDFThis report explores supportive measures for enhanced textile waste management in the EU-27, with a long-term perspective. It assesses the feasibility of three policy measures by describing their modalities and evaluating their implementation challenges, impacts and costs: (i) fiscal incentives (subsidies, grants, tax reductions), (ii) measures for enhanced separate collection, and (iii) mandatory information policies. In addition to a qualitative assessment, scenario analysis is applied to quantitatively assess the potential of the measures to improve the environmental impacts of textile waste management and to estimate e.g. additional investment needs for scaling up separate collection, sorting and fibre-to-fibre recycling. The overall results indicate that the investigated measures could support the transition towards a more sustainable textile waste management ecosystem, e.g., with greenhouse gas savings of up to 5.4 Mt CO2-eq yr-1 for the EU-27. Still, without addressing in parallel also the prevention of textile waste generation via production and consumption patterns, a climate-neutral and circular textiles sector will be hard to achieve.JRC.B.5 - Circular Economy and Sustainable Industr
Deep dive on critical raw materials for batteries in the EU
Get PDFThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the battery industry’s supply chain in the EU, with a focus on the critical raw materials (CRMs) (1) required for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The risks associated with the concentration of the supply of their raw materials are identified. The report also analyses the bottlenecks in the subsequent stages in the supply chain, from the supply of processed materials to the capacity for manufacturing components and LIB cells.
Assuming that the EU successfully achieves its climate neutrality target, the report presents the current and future deployment of batteries for mobility and energy storage up to 2050. Based on this future deployment, two scenarios were developed to estimate the demand for CRMs, namely a ‘base case scenario’ (i.e. slow adoption of technology) and an ‘aggressive innovation scenario’; the latter assumes a higher share of new technologies that utilise raw materials different from those embedded in LIBs (e.g. sodium-ion batteries). The impact of technological innovations on material demand is also assessed and eventually contrasted with the supply of primary raw materials.
Circularity strategies have the potential to mitigate the CRM supply risk; a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis of the further development of circular strategies in the EU is presented in the report. Moreover, based on the two battery deployment scenarios, the potential availability of secondary battery materials in 2030 and 2050 is estimated, considering the potential increase in circular strategies, such as extending the lifetime of batteries through repurposing. Complementing this information, the report also includes an estimate of the EU LIB recycling capacity as of December 2024.
By providing an in-depth analysis of the battery supply chain, this report aims to inform policy and industry decisions to support the strengthening of a more circular battery supply chain in the EU.JRC.D.3 - Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessment
Sampling biases across interaction types affect the robustness of ecological multilayer networks
No full textEcological communities rely on complex networks of species interactions. While traditional studies often focus on single interaction types (e.g. plant-pollinator or host-pathogen), there is growing recognition of the need to consider multiple interaction types to accurately model community dynamics. Multilayer networks can be used to model multiple interaction types simultaneously, but building them poses challenges due to the different sampling techniques and expertise needed for documenting different interaction types. This can introduce biases that affect the completeness of data across layers (interaction types). The extent to which such biases affect multilayer network properties remain unclear. Here, we explored this issue using empirical interaction data collected through standardized field sampling in three archipelagos along a latitudinal gradient (the Balearic, Canary, and Galapagos islands). Based on these observations, we compiled three multilayer networks, each incorporating three types of plant-animal interactions: plant-pollinator, plant-herbivore, and plant-seed disperser. We then enhanced these networks by adding interactions from the literature. The observed and enhanced multilayer networks were compared to evaluate how the quantity and bias of missing information affected network properties. In the enhanced networks, the number of herbivore, pollinator and seed disperser interactions exceeded those from the observed networks by, on average, 82 %, 62 % and 96 %, respectively. The species present in the enhanced networks but missing in the observed networks exhibited distinct structural properties. These sampling biases affected both static and dynamic network properties, and the effects varied notably across archipelagos. Observed networks from the Balearic and Canary Islands were less robust to plant removal than their enhanced counterparts, while the opposite was true for the Galapagos. This study, the first to examine the effects of sampling bias on inferred robustness of ecological multilayer networks, reveals that missing data can have complex, hidden effects on modelled network dynamics. Missing data could, therefore, have important implications for predicting and mitigating species loss.JRC.D.6 - Nature Conservation and Observation
The Impact of Official Development Assistance (ODA) cuts on food security and nutrition – a Knowledge Review
Get PDFHighlights:
- Major cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) are taking place in the United States of America (US), with the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This is expected to have major impacts on food security and nutrition worldwide.
- Decreases in ODA are also taking place in other OECD countries. Total ODA from OECD coun-tries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) declined by 7.1% in 2024 compared to 2023 and it is projected to decline by around 28% by 2026 compared to 2023.
- Based on the latest available data, cancelled USAID awards represent at least 86% of its pro-grammes. In monetary terms, based on fiscal year 2024 data, the cut is at least 38% of obli-gated funds.
- The US is the world largest ODA donor; in 2024, it contributed to 25% of total ODA. Food secu-rity was the sector with the highest funding, with over $4.6 bn.
- The areas most affected by USAID cuts in relative terms include education, private sector competitiveness, conflict mitigation and reconciliation, and infrastructures.
- The sector of agriculture has experienced the highest cut in absolute terms and an 81% reduc-tion. The area of “protection, assistance and solutions”, has the second largest cut in absolute terms but a lower relative share (13%).
- The nutrition sector will be cut by at least 39%. Other program areas related to HIV/AIDS and malaria will experience cuts estimated between 20 to 40%; maternal and child health by 92%
- Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali will face funding cuts from the US ranging from 8% to 66 % of their total funding for 2024. These countries are at highest concern for acute food insecurity, the main sector targeted by US support.
- Cuts threaten to reverse progress in data collection on health and food security by dismantling critical data infrastructure, compromising data quality, and impairing the ability to respond to crises.
- The shortfall of the US cannot be offset by other ODA donors, which shift their priorities from development aid towards strategic national interests, notably migration control and defence
- The main recommendations from key players to address the current challenges include reduc-ing the fragmentation of the ODA landscape; finding innovative, low cost and technology-based sources of data; enhance ownership and leadership in development assistance by na-tional states; and joining forces with private donors.JRC.D.5 - Food Securit
Global Value Chain analysis of the EU automotive sector under the lens of Economic Complexity
Get PDFThis policy brief investigates the structural vulnerabilities and competitive dynamics of the EU27 automotive sector, with a focus on the complexity and the fragmentation of production processes across global value chains. The analysis integrates input-output tables to quantify the automotive sector's reliance on non-EU economic branches, alongside an economic complexity framework to assess the underlying productive capabilities of European countries in automotive-related industries. The findings indicate an increasing dependency on extra-EU suppliers, particularly China, for critical components such as lithium-ion batteries, which heightens supply chain risks. Currently, Eastern European countries-most notably Poland, Czechia, and Hungary-have enhanced their competitiveness in the production of automotive components, surpassing traditional leaders such as Germany. The policy brief offers new insights into the challenges posed by the ongoing electric mobility transition in the European Union, particularly in relation to electric accumulators.JRC.B.6 - Industrial strategy, skills and technology transfe
MHC-I-driven antitumor immunity counterbalances low absorbed doses of radiopharmaceutical therapy
No full textPreclinical and clinical studies increasingly show that the immune response plays a major role in radiotherapy. Here, we investigated the role of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules recognized by cytotoxic CD81 T cells in the response to radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT).
Methods: Two murine melanoma cell lines that express low and high MHC-I levels (B16F10 and B16K1, respectively) were grafted in syngeneic or athymic and nude mice, and the response to a single injection of [225Ac]Ac-DOTA-TA99 monoclonal antibodies (9.25 or 18.5 kBq) was assessed and related to dosimetry. For clinical relevance, MHC-I expression was determined in samples from patients with well-differentiated, iodine-avid metastatic thyroid cancer and well-differentiated grade 2 mid-gut neuroendocrine tumors.
Results: RPT efficacy was enhanced by T-cell presence and MHC-I expression. In mice harboring B16F10 and B16K1 melanoma tumors, RPT showed a stronger antitumor effect in C57BL/6J (immunocompetent) animals than in athymic and nude (immunodeficient) animals, suggesting a crucial role of T-cell–mediated immune responses. Moreover, the response to irradiation was the same in B16K1 MHC-Ihigh tumors with a low absorbed dose of a-RPT and in B16F10 MHC-Ilow tumors with a 4 times higher absorbed dose. These results indicate that CD81 T cells can counterbalance low tumor irradiation. Conversely, delivering high absorbed doses leads to side effects and seems to prevent immune system activation, thereby not taking advantage of these mechanisms. Our results also indicate that MHC-I can be used as a predictive biomarker of RPT response in lesions receiving low absorbed
doses and that RPT treatment regimens should be reconsidered in the function of the MHC-I expression level.
Conclusion: This study shows that MHC-I expression can predict RPT immunostimulatory effects. This
is relevant in metastatic disease where lesions in the same patient can receive very low or very high absorbed doses.JRC.G.I.5 - Nuclear Science and Innovation for Energy and Healt
How are regions using European funds to promote the circular economy? Shedding light on factors explaining the pathway
No full textPurpose – This study aims to examine the geographical spread of the EU-funded circular economy projects in the European Union.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a novel database of research and development projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund related to the circular economy to estimate a fractional response model on data for 231 European regions.
Findings – First, the authors detect a geographical pattern in the share of circular economy funds. Second, the authors find that institutional quality, employment, human capital and income may drive the concentration of circular economy research and development funds. Third, the authors find overall differences between technology projects and circular economy projects, suggesting that addressing the circular economy at the subnational level is complex.JRC.B.7 - Innovation Policies and Economic Impac