Research Ethics and integrity for the GREEN transition

ongoing

There is growing awareness of the importance of having all sectors of society adapt to face a range of global environmental and climate challenges, taking into account intergenerational justice. These challenges require developing an encompassing framework for research and innovation (R&I) to address environmental and climate ethics and integrity issues, which relate not only to R&I involving potentially significant environmental and climate repercussions (e.g., R&I in the area of electro-magnetic fields), but also R&I specifically aiming to develop knowledge and technologies to address environmental and climate challenges (e.g., geoengineering or biotechnology in food systems). RE4GREEN’s main goal is to contribute to a European Research Area (ERA) ethics and integrity framework for research and innovation activities designed to support the transition to a sustainable economy and society as envisioned by the European Green Deal. While R&I has too often been part of the problem of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, a central pillar of the European Green Deal and associated legislation is to promote new technologies and sustainable solutions to reach net zero emissions in the EU by 2050, and advance a range of other climate and environmental objectives. Based on a bottom-up approach that uses the social lab methodology to reflect diverse stakeholder expertise, RE4GREEN will develop operational research ethics and integrity guidelines, recommendations and training materials and programmes for researchers, ethics and integrity experts and advisors and ethics review boards to make sure R&I activities more holistically contribute solutions toward the Green Transition.