Annual Meeting 2020 of the MOPGA-GRI Program
On 8th and 9th of December 2020, the 13 projects of the MOPGA-GRI program met at a digital meeting. The participants were able to gain many varied impressions of the work of the international projects in the fields of climate, Earth system and energy research. Thanks to the digital format, not only the scientists abroad were able to participate, but also the members from the respective research groups of the projects at German universities and non-university research institutions.
RACE AGAINST TIME: RESEARCH ON THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER BEFORE
The conclusion of the scientists - a few days before the 4th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement - made the relevance of the MOPGA program, which was launched in 2018, very clear once again. Funding of transnational research in the areas of climate, earth system, and energy research, as well as the creation of effective scientific networks, are needed more than ever to address climate change. In this context, the ongoing Corona pandemic underlines in an unprecedented way the urgent need to respond to the challenges caused by the climate change.
Impressions of the Annual meeting are shown here:
HISTORY OF THE INITIATIVE
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and implemented by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the programme has its origins in the „Make Our Planet Great Again" initiative launched by French president, Emmanuel Macron. Both countries want to use this programme to contribute to the achievement of the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement, thus assuming responsibility for urgent climate issues. The BMBF has agreed to provide the initiative with a budget of €15 million (plus additional contributions from German institutions) in order to support suitable international research projects in close cooperation with the French initiative. In total, each of the research groups has a budget of up to €1 million (junior researchers) or €1.5 million (senior researchers). The projects will run for four years and are to be carried out from mid-2018 to the end of 2022.