highly needed change towards a resilient, circular, net-zero carbon and inclusive
economy. EIT Climate-KIC is a European knowledge and innovation community,
working towards a prosperous, inclusive, climate-resilient society founded on a
circular, zero-carbon economy. The EIT Climate-KIC is part of the European
Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the EIT Community, which is a
body of the European Union and a global innovation leader, delivering world-class
solutions to societal problems. It seeks to catalyse the rapid innovation needed across
sectors by bringing together the brightest minds to tackle challenges, empowering
leaders through capacity building, and financially support the most promising
climate-positive businesses (EIT Climate-KIC 2020a).
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012
under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific
and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and the Paris Climate Agreement. SDSN works closely with United Nations
agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector and civil society
(UN SDSN 2020).
The Oceans of Tomorrow call triggered the interest to explore the whole spectrum
of the sustainability concept in the oceans, with several European funded projects
having been developed in the last 10 years aiming to respond to the challenges,
which oceans face today. The aim of this chapter is to present ten projects that have
been selected from Professor Koundouri scientific portfolio aiming to cover challenges and solutions related to sustainable oceans in a holistic manner. The objective
is to build the knowledge base for a sustainable growth of sea-based activities. It will
do this in three ways: by improving understanding of marine ecosystems’ response
to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, by interpreting the
interdependencies between shipping sector and ports and by providing a scientific
foundation for feasible, sustainable management and regulating policies taking into
consideration relevant innovative technologies.
1.2 The Oceans of Tomorrow
The aims of the call are to improve our understanding and the predictive capacity of
marine ecosystems’ response to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors
while fostering innovations to make the most of sea resources. The call consists of
four topics. Two are of generic nature, multi-use offshore platforms (MUOPs) and
marine microbial diversity, while the other two are of particular relevance to the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions: (1) natural and human-made pressures in
the Mediterranean and Black Sea and (2) marine protected areas (MPAs) and wind
energy potential in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
4
P. Koundouri et al.
economy. EIT Climate-KIC is a European knowledge and innovation community,
working towards a prosperous, inclusive, climate-resilient society founded on a
circular, zero-carbon economy. The EIT Climate-KIC is part of the European
Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the EIT Community, which is a
body of the European Union and a global innovation leader, delivering world-class
solutions to societal problems. It seeks to catalyse the rapid innovation needed across
sectors by bringing together the brightest minds to tackle challenges, empowering
leaders through capacity building, and financially support the most promising
climate-positive businesses (EIT Climate-KIC 2020a).
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012
under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific
and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and the Paris Climate Agreement. SDSN works closely with United Nations
agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector and civil society
(UN SDSN 2020).
The Oceans of Tomorrow call triggered the interest to explore the whole spectrum
of the sustainability concept in the oceans, with several European funded projects
having been developed in the last 10 years aiming to respond to the challenges,
which oceans face today. The aim of this chapter is to present ten projects that have
been selected from Professor Koundouri scientific portfolio aiming to cover challenges and solutions related to sustainable oceans in a holistic manner. The objective
is to build the knowledge base for a sustainable growth of sea-based activities. It will
do this in three ways: by improving understanding of marine ecosystems’ response
to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, by interpreting the
interdependencies between shipping sector and ports and by providing a scientific
foundation for feasible, sustainable management and regulating policies taking into
consideration relevant innovative technologies.
1.2 The Oceans of Tomorrow
The aims of the call are to improve our understanding and the predictive capacity of
marine ecosystems’ response to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors
while fostering innovations to make the most of sea resources. The call consists of
four topics. Two are of generic nature, multi-use offshore platforms (MUOPs) and
marine microbial diversity, while the other two are of particular relevance to the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions: (1) natural and human-made pressures in
the Mediterranean and Black Sea and (2) marine protected areas (MPAs) and wind
energy potential in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
4
P. Koundouri et al.