Understanding and managing medium and longer-term challenges and opportunities for agriculture stemming from shifting climatic zones and changing agroecological environments

R&I under Destination “Land, ocean and water for climate action” will deliver mainly under Key Strategic Orientation (KSO) 1 of Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027: Green transition. It will also deliver under KSO 2: Digital Transition and KSO 3: A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe.

This Destination is expected to support the implementation of the European Ocean Pact, foster mitigation of and adaptation to climate change on land, in the ocean and water, and therefore helps Cluster 6 to support the ambition of Europe becoming the first climate-neutral and climate-resilient continent by 2050, in line with the European Green Deal and the new Commission priority on “Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature”. Actions under this Destination will support the implementation of the European Climate Law, the amended Regulation on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) and the amended Effort Sharing Regulation, which establishes binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for Member States in sectors which include agriculture.

In continuation with the orientations of previous Cluster 6 Work Programmes, and in line with the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027, R&I actions under this Destination for Work Programme 2025 will be aligned with the Communications on sustainable carbon cycles and with the EU 2040 climate target. They will also support the implementation of the proposed Regulation establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals and will deliver on climate adaptation in line with the EU strategy on adaptation to climate change. R&I activities in the areas of agriculture and forestry under this Destination will contribute to the implementation of the EU methane strategy, the EU forest strategy for 2030 as well as the proposal for an EU Forest Monitoring Law and will be in line with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive when they affect the marine environment.

R&I actions under this Destination will encourage international cooperation and help achieve international commitments concerning land, water and ocean, notably the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ). The destination will support the implementation of the European Ocean Pact and the objectives of the joint communication on the EU Arctic policy, by fostering regional and international initiatives.

Strengthening the climate-ocean-cryosphere-polar science nexus will continue to be a priority for the EU, as well as the integrity and resilience of the ocean and polar regions as vulnerable parts of the Earth system. R&I will support and close key knowledge gaps through research that contributes substantially to the implementation of key international treaties and the work of various international bodies, assessments and other initiatives (such as BBNJ, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), World Ocean Assessment (WOA), UNFCCC Ocean-Climate Dialogue, United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, the potential International/Intergovernmental Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS), the WMO Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W), and the work of the Arctic Council).

The Destination will also support the water related targets of the European Green Deal and ensure water resilience with a view of reinforcing society’s ability to sustainably secure the availability and affordability of clean water despite the current uncertainty on long-term trends and the increased variability of water availability. This requires adapting our water facilities, our water use and water management to changing economic, societal and environmental factors including climate change. R&I will be necessary to ensure in particular that key innovative approaches, solutions and technologies developed by EU funded projects, are successfully and fairly taken up by policy makers, water managers and water consuming economic sectors. The announced European water resilience strategy and European climate adaptation plan will be supported.

Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “fostering mitigation of and adaptation to climate change in areas and sectors covered by Cluster 6”, and more specifically to one or more of the following impacts:

• better understood short-, medium- and long-term ocean health and integrity at different emission scenarios, under the pressure of current and emerging threats, including ocean climate interventions, and the passing of planetary boundaries for ocean acidification;
• medium and longer-term risks and opportunities for agriculture and forestry from climate change, in particular from shifting climatic zones, are better understood and managed at relevant scales within Europe and in the international context, mitigating hazardous changes where possible;
• greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture, forestry and land-use sectors are further reduced, while monitoring, reporting and verification of the emissions is improved;
• adaptation and mitigation of water systems in the context of climate change are fostered to help build a water resilient society and environment.

To maximise the impacts of R&I under this Destination, a systemic multidisciplinary approach, strong international cooperation as well as the integration of indigenous and local knowledge need to be ensured. Social innovation also needs to be encouraged to involve all stakeholders, with a view to triggering the ownership of new practices and the uptake of solutions.

R&I under the destination will be complementary with activities of the Mission “Adaptation to climate change”, the Mission “Restore our ocean and waters by 2030” (in particular with the establishment of the Digital Twin of the Ocean) and the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. Synergies will also be established with European partnerships (e.g., Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, Agroecology and the upcoming European Partnership on Agriculture of Data), PRIMA (amended EC proposal extending the duration of the partnership by three years, i.e., 2025-2027), and with Destination Earth and its Digital Twins (Climate Adaptation, Extremes). Synergies and complementarities with Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy and Mobility) on climate science will also be ensured. Digital technologies, such as AI, robotics, 5G, cloud computing as well as Earth Observation, will be exploited in the activities given their enabling role and potential contribution to the objectives of the cluster.

The Destination will ensure a balance in terms of lower and higher Technological Readiness Levels (TRLs). R&I actions will take advantage of, contribute to, coordinate with, and involve relevant Copernicus services.

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