Brussels, 04.11.2021 – Finnova Foundation, Metabolic Institute, and Global Omnium will hold an EU side event entitled ‘Powering the EU through 2050: Turning the Bioeconomy into Reality’ at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (#COP26) on Friday 5 November at 9:30(Brussels time). The goal of this event is to discuss the current situation of bioeconomy in Europe and to put forward innovative solutions to meet the EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050. This event will be held on EU Energy Day.
Having been established 30 years ago, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is the most important international forum to tackle the global climate crisis. The 2021 edition will be held from 31 Oct. to 12 Nov. in Glasgow and Brussels with on-site and online events.
The goal of this summit is to achieve new agreements and commitments among world leaders to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. Consequently, it is pivotal to halve world emissions by 2030 and to cut them out by 2050 – this will enable to meet the goals set out under the Paris Agreement.
Metabolic Institute will kick off the ‘Powering the EU through 2050: Turning the Bioeconomy into Reality’ event by introducing the current status of bioeconomy in Europe, i.e. the production of goods and services using science, technology, and innovation as well as renewable natural and biological resources. Subsequently, there will be a panel discussion featuring Juanma Revuelta (CEO, Finnova Foundation), Carlos Lafita López (RDI Manager, Global Omnium), Harmen Dekker (Chairman, European Biogas Association), and Erin Kennedy (Project Manager, Metabolic Institute). During this roundtable, panelists will analyse the challenges the EU must face and how bioeconomy can become a reality.
The event will equally feature the presentation of LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0, a project funded under the LIFE programme – the EU fund dedicated to environmental and climate objectives. Under the umbrella of fostering innovation in the EU and ensuring implementation of bioeconomy, this pilot project allows to transform sludge from wastewater treatment plants into green energy via technology.
The event will be wrapped up with the delivery of the ‘Bioeconomy COP26 Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)’ whereby the potential of projects, start-ups, and disruptive ideas in bioeconomy will be acknowledged.
About COP26 Created by the United Nations 30 years ago, the COP26 is the most important international forum devoted to addressing climate change. The 2021 edition will host on-site and online events from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow and Brussels. Participants and policymakers will attempt to engage in new commitments to contain temperature rise to 1.5 degrees this century. This goal will only be met provided that global emissions are halved by 2030 and net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova Foundation is a Spanish-Belgian foundation which finances innovation. Finnova aims to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address societal challenges such as jobs, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, and the circular economy, among others. Finnova works at an EU-level and is headquartered in Belgium, although it also has several offices across Spain.
About Global Omnium
Global Omnium is a highly renowned corporate group both in Spain and abroad. Global Omnium specialises in the different processes encompassing the whole water cycle, and it runs several complementary businesses which create synergies to optimise the use of water and to manage wastes. It services 5.5 million people in over 300 Spanish cities and it operates in three other continents. Global Omnium is a social-minded project, and it is made up of long-established companies which have been contributing to the growth of the cities and municipalities in which they operate.
https://www.globalomnium.com/Grupo/Inicio/
About The Metabolic Institute
The Metabolic Institute is a non-profit think tank working at the intersection of academic research and real-world experimentation. It is made up of experts who counsel governments, companies, and NGOs on how to adapt to a rapid changing world, while it equally creates disruptive solutions which can drastically change the functioning of economy. The Metabolic Institute analyses data, proposes strategies and tools, designs pilot projects, and creates new companies which develop scalable solutions to solve critical problems.
https://www.metabolic.nl/institute/
About Startup Europe Awards (SEUA)
Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism, culture and creativity, and the fight against climate change.
https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/
About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0
LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 features a software which enables to automatically control the pumping of organic wastes into anaerobic digesters in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to maximise the production of on-demand biogas – a renewable source of energy. This project has a 970,000 euro budget and has a duration of four years (2020-2024). It is being led by Global Omnium Medioambiente (Spain) and is partnered by Finnovaregio (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal). The production of biogas to cover the energy demand and to reduce the amount of wastes in landfills complies with the provisions set forth under the EU’s Landfill Directive.