The METRES (Modelling Environmental Tax Reform in Spain) project aims to evaluate the “double dividend hypothesis” for environmental taxation in Spain. To do this, the researcher would develop an Intertemporal General Equilibrium Model (IGEM) to assess the economic and the environmental effects of an Environmental Tax Reform (ETR) and of some of the main environmental taxes in Spain at different administrative levels, as well as various proposed policy reforms. In a first phase of the research project, conducted at Harvard University (United States), the IGEM would be built, and a comprehensive ETR for Spain would be tested through the development of scenarios that consider the reduction of labour taxes in favour of environmental taxes. In a second phase, conducted at the policy-oriented (and research-oriented) consultancy and SME Serveis de Suport a la Gestió, SL (ENT Environment and Management) (Spain), three currently existing environmental taxes in Spain, at three different administrative levels, would be tested in the developed model. After that, one scenario that improves the effects for each tax would be developed. Finally, some policy measures would be proposed, including possible changes to configuration and regulation of the analysed taxes. The three environmental taxes assessed would be: at national level, the tax on electricity; at regional level, the tax on landfill and incineration of waste in Catalonia, and at local level, the vehicle circulation tax. In the first case, taxation on electricity was recently modified and these changes need to be evaluated. In the second case, this municipal solid waste tax at regional level has become a successful case study and has received international attention. Finally, the Spanish Parliament already in 2007 passed a resolution asking for the revision of the local vehicle circulation tax. This methodology is widely used by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and improves previous existing CGE methods.

The sustainable management of organic waste is a critical global challenge, leading to greenhouse gas emissions and resource inefficiency utilization. Bio4UP tackles this by developing biochar-enhanced technologies within a zero-waste strategy, integrating biotechnological and catalytic approaches in a circular economy framework. The project aims to: (1) Develop multifunctional biochars for organic waste valorization; (2) Optimize biochar-integrated processes in anaerobic digestion, biogas purification, and catalytic CO2 conversion into methanol or methane to improve efficiency and sustainability; (3) Valorize biochar-containing digestate into biopesticides and biostimulants via solid-state fermentation; (4) Develop decision-support tools and sustainability frameworks to guide circular economy strategies; and (5) Foster interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and international collaboration through staff exchanges and knowledge transfer. Bio4UP aligns with MSCA SE principles by bringing together 9 European beneficiaries (Spain, France, Ireland, Greece, Slovenia) and 2 Latin American partners (Colombia, Peru) from academia, industry, and research institutions. The project mobilizes 302 person-months of staff exchanges, fostering expertise in biochar engineering, process optimization, and sustainability assessment while promoting mutual knowledge exchange between Europe and LMICs. By integrating lab-scale research with pilot-scale validation, Bio4UP bridges scientific innovation and industrial application, supporting the European Green Deal and Horizon Europe’s circular economy objectives. The project advances scalable waste-to-resource pathways, enhancing bioenergy production, reducing emissions, and fostering sustainable agriculture in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, while strengthening researcher mobility and career development.

Significant reductions in anthropogenic emissions and increases in CO2 sinks are needed to meet the 1.5 centigrades threshold for global warming set out in the Paris Agreement and reach the climate-neutrality goal of the European Green Deal by 2050. The CO2 sink provided by forests, including old-growth forests, partially offsets the rise in anthropogenic CO2 emissions, providing a large-scale buffer to climate change. Depending on their characteristics and local circumstances, such as management practices or ecosystem services, forests may range from net CO2 sinks to sources. The project 'OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in Europe (OptFor-EU)' will build a Decision Support System (DSS) to provide forest managers and other relevant stakeholders with tailored options for optimising decarbonisation and other Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) across Europe. Based on exploitation of existing data sources, use of novel Essential Forest Mitigation Indicators and relationships between climate drivers, forest responses and ecosystem services, OptFor-EU has five specific objectives: (1) Provide an improved characterisation of the Forest-Climate Nexus and FES; (2) Utilise end-user focused process modelling; (3) Empower forest end-users to make informed decisions to enhance forest resilience and decarbonisation; (4) Provide a novel DSS service; and (5) Bridging different EU strategic priorities, robust science, and stakeholders in the forest and forest-based sectors. Based on a supply-demand approach, the methodology combines an iterative process of data consolidation, modelling, and co-development of solutions alongside forest managers and other practice stakeholders in all European Forest Types. The DSS will be designed and tested at 8 case study areas, to provide a ready-to-use service, near to operational (TRL7) at European level, while a user adoption and up-take plan will maximise the societal and business impact.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have the potential to respond to climate change, enhance biodiversity and improve environmental quality while contributing to economic regeneration and social well-being. Yet there is a substantial gap between the promise of NBS and their uptake. To unlock the potential of NBS for sustainable urban development, NATURVATION will take a transdisciplinary, internationally comparative approach to: advance assessment approaches (Objective 1) to capture the multiple impacts & values of NBS to deliver a robust evidence base for decision-making; enable innovation (Objective 2) to identify the most promising governance, business/finance and participation models and how to overcome the systemic conditions that currently limit their use to support systemic integration; and generate momentum to realise the potential of NBS through co-design, co-development & co-implementation of new partnerships, knowledge, recommendations, processes and tools required to build capacity, enable replication and foster cultural change (Objective 3). Our transdisciplinary approach working with ‘urban-regional innovation partnerships’ in six different cities and a Task Force of highly respected international organisations working in this arena integrates science, social science and humanities (SSH) and practical expertise and experience to achieve a step-change in the use of NBS for urban sustainability.