The EU’s Horizon 2020 R&D programme is failing to meet its goal of allocating 35 per cent of its budget to research into tackling climate change, despite recognising the problem.
Between 2014 and March 2019, Horizon 2020 spent a total of €11.2bn on climate activities, just 29 per cent of the programme’s total expenditure, according to a European Commission document published on 17 May.
The Commission has long been aware of the shortfall. Research commissioner Carlos Moedas said in June 2017, when the overall figure stood at 27 per cent, that he had instructed his staff to tackle the problem through the 2018-20 funding calls. “I don’t know if I can give an order, but at least I try to convince everybody that we have to solve this, and we have three years to do it,” he said.
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