EGU vision & strategy

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the leading organisation for Earth, planetary and space science research in Europe. With our partner organisations worldwide, we foster fundamental geoscience research, alongside applied research that addresses key societal and environmental challenges. Our vision is to realise a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet.

The EGU is a member-led organisation, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in geoscience research, upholding and promoting the highest standards of scientific integrity, open science and open access research. We facilitate dialogue and the exchange of information between scientists, the media, policymakers and the public, and are recognised as a trusted source of impartial, evidence-based geoscience information.

Guided by our diverse scientific community, the EGU provides a means to share, publish, promote and collaborate on the latest geoscience research. We are committed to, and are a leader in, open access scientific publications. Our annual General Assembly provides the largest and most prominent forum in Europe for sharing geoscience knowledge and understanding, and building a collaborative community of scientists.

The EGU is committed to developing the next generation of geoscientists through the provision of world-class education, training and resources to secondary school teachers, university geoscience educators and to early career scientists, thus ensuring equitable access to the latest scientific knowledge and expertise.

• A supportive community environment for Earth, planetary and space scientists at every career stage
• Opportunities for equitable and inspiring collaboration between geoscientists in Europe and beyond
• The facilitation of inclusive scientific excellence and research conducted with fairness and integrity both within and across disciplinary boundaries
• The publication, discussion and dissemination of high quality, open and accessible research, that promotes the use of geoscience knowledge for the benefit of humanity and the planet

EGU's values form the basis of our ethical standards (PDF document, 64.0 KB).

• Global scientific leadership, outreach and engagement
• Publications
• General Assembly
• Sustainability, resilience, and innovation
• Inclusive culture and member support
• Community structures and processes

The world currently faces a range of global challenges to science and scientists, and as such it is more important than ever for EGU to project an authoritative voice that upholds scientific integrity and ethical standards, positioning the organisation as the home of high-quality, robust geosciences. We aim to seize opportunities to promote European scientific excellence, counter attacks on science, counter disinformation/misinformation and stand up for high-quality, open, fair and reproducible science.

Position EGU as the “home for high-quality geosciences”

We will take steps to enhance our communications, creating a clear narrative as a champion of the value of science and research in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. We will work to position EGU as the “home for high-quality geosciences”, by supporting public and school engagement, media outreach, and science-policy-society initiatives, and fostering our reputation as a trusted independent scientific partner to European institutions.

EGU’s place as a global partner

We will emphasise EGU’s place in the global network of geoscientific societies, and work to strengthen our relationships with European scientific societies, institutions, funding bodies, policymakers, governments, and other relevant associations, to facilitate scientific collaborations throughout Europe and beyond. This greater emphasis on international collaboration will help us build a united front to stand up for science, for all our members.

Continued investment in outreach, education and science for policy

We will initiate an expansion of our current outreach, education and science-for-policy initiatives, facilitating science and research outreach and education beyond the General Assembly, to support geoscience researchers facing funding and personal constraints and career instability.

A core part of EGU activities is the publication, discussion and dissemination of high quality, open and accessible research, that promotes the use of geoscience knowledge for the benefit of humanity and the planet. Publications are a key pillar in both our financial model for reinvesting in our community and as an embodiment of our goal to be the home for high quality geosciences. Protecting the values underpinning EGU scientific publications (transparent, open access, and not for profit) whilst evolving and strengthening those publications, is of great importance to EGU.

Secure high-quality publications in a changing landscape

Scientific publications are currently in a time of great disruption in the landscape of scientific publications: business models are being upended; AI poses risks to scientific ethics and integrity, critical thinking, and veracity; funding for open-access journals is constrained; and the costs of commercial journals are continuously increasing. We are committed to maintaining the highest scientific and ethical standards for EGU journals, and will work to develop additional standards and guidance around publication quality. We will also deepen our understanding and effective use of AI, and ‘big data’ to ensure our high quality publication standards are maintained by all EGU journals.

Guarantee accessible publishing

EGU promotes interactive open access publishing as a way to build trust in science, and as such we will guarantee that our Article Processing Charges and waiver schemes remain accessible and fair.

The EGU General Assembly is the largest and most prominent geoscientific meeting held in Europe, with ~21,000 attendees participating in Vienna and online. Over the years since the COVID19 pandemic the General Assembly has revolutionised into a hybrid meeting, embracing a range of new technologies and concepts. Despite the huge strides that have already been made, EGU is eager to build upon our successes and learn from our failures to continue to improve the in-person and virtual participant experience.

Continue to innovate the hybrid model of the General Assembly

We will explore new ideas for improving the meeting, such as the use of machine learning and other digital transformations to improve General Assembly programme planning and organisation. We will continue to prioritise cutting-edge science at the General Assembly, and will assess the additional ways the meeting can provide EGU members with appropriate and valuable activities beyond the scientific sessions.

Continue to examine the sustainability of the meeting

A significant question that our members ask about the General Assembly is the associated environmental and financial cost, and sustainability challenges of delivering and attending the General Assembly. As a result EGU will continue to regularly review the size, format, capacity and long-term sustainability of the General Assembly. In addition we will undertake a review of the structure and organisation of the General Assembly programme, ensuring it is still efficiently and appropriately meeting the needs of our attendees and members.

EGU’s environmental, financial and organisational sustainability is essential for us to continue supporting our community into the future. We are not complacent–there is always room for improvement, especially in the context of the current uncertain political landscape, ongoing conflicts and threats, and the ethical imperative to go further and faster in improving environmental sustainability.

Review environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability, in particular, is valued by our members. To improve environmental sustainability, we commit to regularly review and assess the environmental impacts resulting from in-person activities (e.g. the General Assembly), conduct a review of the sustainability of day-to-day operations of the Executive Office, to identify areas to better measure and reduce environmental impact, and explore appropriate carbon reduction initiatives.

Protect financial sustainability

During the past 20 years of EGU’s history we have prioritised a prudent financial strategy. This approach has enabled us as a Union to build up financial reserves that allowed us to survive two years of consecutive financial failure (due to two short-term cancellations of the on-site General Assembly). Today, this prudent financial strategy enables us to manage unpredictable circumstances with greater confidence, and remains the EGU’s strategic approach for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, when it is possible to build up any surplus, we will continue to prioritise reinvesting funds in our communities and members (e.g. through waivers, support and the Special Activity Fund).

In order to maintain our financial sustainability and resilience, EGU will continue to review funding resources and diversity of our income, following all necessary legal advice as an organisation based in Germany. We will also maintain our financial independence, which allows us to remain financially adaptive and responsive to external developments, as directed by our members and volunteers.

Reinforce organisational sustainability

Organisational sustainability in EGU can be identified as ensuring the functionality of the Union, so we can continue to serve our members (beyond our financial operations). To protect our operational sustainability we will develop our institutional memory, build resilience within the Executive Office structure through intentional recruitment and strengthen risk management processes by updating emergency protocols and procedures. This includes considering aspects of cybersecurity and GDPR compliance, system access and data protocols, which we continue to review to ensure our data and systems are protected from external threats.

Evolve EGU governance

As a member-led organisation, EGU’s governance is critical in ensuring effective co-ordination of our member’s needs, ideas and innovations. To help us maintain a governance structure that reflects our membership, we will work to ensure appropriate member representation on the EGU Council and commit to undertaking periodic reviews of the EGU Code of Conduct, Best Practices, Statutes and Bylaws.

The EGU is a diverse and supportive community, welcoming geoscientists, science policy specialists, social scientists and science communicators from across the world. We will continue to represent and support EGU members, providing opportunities for equitable and inspiring collaboration in Europe and beyond.

Support and promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in science

Aligned with our core values of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), we will continue our drive to improve accessibility to publications, conferences and broader EGU activities, prioritising a more inclusive, accessible experience in our event and operations designs. This also includes working to improve the diversity of representation in all aspects of our Union, from awardees and medallists, to editorial boards, and EGU’s governance.

Provide appropriate financial support to improve accessibility

We will continue to develop the ways in which we offer financial support for participation in EGU activities to EGU members from less well-resourced countries and organisations, or who face funding instability for other reasons. This will come in the form of waivers and reductions where possible, as well as EGU absorbing inflation-related increases rather than passing them on to EGU members.

Provide support and encouragement to Early Career Scientists (ECS)

Early Career Scientists make up a significant proportion of the EGU’s membership. Led by the Early Career Scientist (ECS) network, the EGU will continue to encourage and support Early Career Scientists by investing in resources and training (e.g. mentoring and careers), provide particular visibility to ECS activities, networking and collaboration opportunities throughout the year and ensure the voices of our ECS members are represented in EGU’s decision-making bodies. A key part of this approach is listening to our ECS members as they identify their changing needs to better align our support.

EGU’s strength lies in our community of over 23,000 members. Benefits to members come not only from scientific collaborations within individual disciplines, but also through professional development and collaborations across disciplinary boundaries.

Support inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration

EGU will continue to develop co-ordination and collaboration across scientific disciplines, at both a regional member network, and a global level. This will be facilitated through support for interdisciplinarity and inter-Division activities.

Conduct a review of Division structure and operation

Divisional volunteers, structures and processes provide the framework that underpins our community and enable it to function, EGU will conduct a review of Division structures, representations and processes, to ensure they best meet members’ needs.

• EGU strategic priorities 2026–2030 (PDF document, 4.1 MB)
• EGU strategic priorities 2019–2025 (PDF document, 4.0 MB)