The European Commission launched last week five missions to tackle big challenges in health, climate and the environment, and to achieve ambitious and inspiring goals in these areas.
They are a new tool that includes a set of actions, such as research and innovation projects, policy measures and legislative initiatives, to achieve concrete goals with large societal impact and within a specified timeline.
This is also a new and innovative way to work together and improve the lives of people in Europe and beyond. The five missions, that will aim to deliver solutions to key global challenges by 2030, are:
1. Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030;
2. Cancer: working with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and solutions to live longer and better;
3. Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030;
4. 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030;
5. A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.Video: EU missions – Climate-neutral and smart citiesAccording to European Commusion, missions are a new collaborative approach to tackle some of the main challenges of our times. They provide a mandate to achieve specific goals in a set timeframe.
They will also deliver impact by putting research and innovation into a new role, combined with new forms of governance and collaboration, as well as with a new way of engaging with citizens, including young people.
For example, in the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities mission, selected cities will involve their citizens in drawing up ‘Climate City Contracts’ to help reach climate neutrality by 2030.
In this sense, last September we launched the iniciative citiES2030 under the plarform El Día Después, of which itdUPM is member. And the first step of this iniciative has been a declaration signed by the mayoress and the mayors of the main four cities in Spain -Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla-, together with the vice president Teresa Ribera, to apply in Spain the European mission of reaching 100 climatically neutral cities before 2030.Misión citiES2030
