Research Ethics and integrity for the GREEN transition

There is growing awareness of the importance of having all sectors of society adapt to face a range of globalenvironmental and climate challenges, taking into account intergenerational justice.

These challenges require developingan encompassing framework for research and innovation (R&I) to address environmental and climate ethics and integrityissues, which relate not only to R&I involving potentially significant environmental and climate repercussions (e.g., R&Iin the area of electro-magnetic fields), but also R&I specifically aiming to develop knowledge and technologies to addressenvironmental and climate challenges (e.g., geoengineering or biotechnology in food systems).

RE4GREEN’s maingoal is to contribute to a European Research Area (ERA) ethics and integrity framework for research andinnovation activities designed to support the transition to a sustainable economy and society as envisioned by theEuropean Green Deal.

While R&I has too often been part of the problem of environmental degradation and biodiversityloss, a central pillar of the European Green Deal and associated legislation is to promote new technologies and sustainablesolutions to reach net zero emissions in the EU by 2050, and advance a range of other climate and environmentalobjectives.

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 materialsand programmes for researchers, ethics and integrity experts and advisors and ethics review boards to make sure R&Iactivities more holistically contribute solutions toward the Green Transition.