02.04.2025Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Accelerating the green transition for a sustainable Europe

At European level, research and innovation funding is currently being prepared for the period from 2028. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing impetus in the field of sustainability research. These contributions are intended to be incorporated into the development of the successor program to Horizon Europe.

Under the title "Accelerating the green transistion – Research for a competitive and resilient Europe within the Earth system boundaries", the recently published focus paper highlights sustainability research as a key driver of the green transformation. It discusses the structures and instruments that can maximize the impact of research and innovation activities and effectively support the transformation process toward sustainability. Furthermore, it outlines research needs across nine priority areas that future-oriented EU research funding should address:

Sound Earth system governance
Shaping transition in a pluralistic society in a social and democratic way
Energy technologies and systems of the future
Regional and global greenhouse gas management as a contribution to climate protection and nature conservation
Adapting to changing climate conditions and increasing resilience
Sustainable urban and regional development and mobility
Circular, bio-based and sustainable economy
Multifunctional land use for food security, biodiversity and climate protection
Using and protecting water bodies and water sustainably

The focus paper is the result of an overarching process that has been ongoing since February 2024, in which the BMBF is contributing to the further development of EU research policy in the field of sustainability. As part of this process, a workshop with experts has already been held, and a survey was conducted to gather input from the scientific community. The focus paper complements the German Discussion Paper in Preparation for the 10th EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and is part of a series of technical papers by the BMBF on the successor program to Horizon Europe.