Dear EGU Expert,

As summer sets in and business-as-usual slows down, we hope you're finding time to relax and recharge!

This month’s Newsletter invites our readers to check out BioAgora's inaugural Science-Policy Interface Dialogue Workshop and the new round of European Commission Bluebook Traineeship applications. It also features a new useful practical guide for sharing scientific evidence with policymakers by the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Finally, it announces the EU Climate Law Amendment Proposal - the latest big achievement of the Science for Policy community.

If you have any further questions or comments about the policy opportunities that exist for scientists in Europe, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Best wishes,

Science for Policy Team

BioAgora is a European collaborative project that aims to connect research on biodiversity with policymaking. The project’s first Science-Policy Interface Dialogue Workshop will take place on 1-2 October 2025 in Ghent, Belgium.

The workshop is intended for researchers and policy officers working at the EU or national level on biodiversity and cross-sectoral implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy targets with a focus on freshwater-related challenges. However, participation is not limited to freshwater or watershed management—if your expertise lies in areas such as nature restoration, agriculture, or energy production, you are welcome to apply!

The workshop will feature co-learning and strengthening collaborative approaches. You can learn more about the workshop here, and you can register here. The places are limited!

As a July classic, the European Commission has an open call for its 5-month Blue Book Traineeship for the March 2026 cohort. These traineeships not only provide an opportunity to understand how especially EU-level decision-making processes work, but also set a pathway into more policy-driven roles.

While the exact activities undertaken by the trainee will vary depending on the policy area and service, some examples of activities that you may undertake during a Traineeship include attending and organising meetings, conducting research, drafting and editing policy documents, and answering inquiries.

The Commission does not specifically target scientists in the application process but often those with specific expertise are welcome. You can read more about the Traineeship and apply here before 10:00 CEST on 29 August 2025.

The European Research Executive Agency (REA) has published a new practical guide that explains how EU funded research and innovation projects can share scientific evidence with policymakers at the European, national, regional or local level.

This is a concise and important starter kit that introduces policy and project cycles and provides step-by-step advice to help scientists bring their project’s results and recommendations to the attention of policymakers.

For those who are interested in engaging further, the starter kit also underlines key resources such as the EU Academy training on Science for Policy and Joint Research Center’s Science for Policy Handbook.

You can read the kit here and get inspired!

The European Commission has recently proposed an amendment to the EU Climate Law setting a 2040 EU climate target: a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels.

Originally adopted in 2021, the EU Climate Law established the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. It also set a legally binding target of a 55% reduction by 2030, and required that the EU set a further intermediary target for 2040.

The newly proposed 2040 target is based on an in-depth impact assessment and advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. That is an exciting example of how the Science for Policy community is shaping EU climate policy!