Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a specific programme or research and technological development in the field of environment and climate (1994-1998) (94/C 228/06) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 68 final - 94/0084(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 March 1994)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130i(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas, by Decision . . ./ . . ./EC, the Council and the European Parliament adopted a Fourth Framework Programme of Community activities in the field of research, technological development and demonstration (RTD) for the period 1994-1998 specifying inter alia the activities to be carried out in the field of environment and climate; whereas this Decision takes account of the grounds set out in the preamble to that Decision;

Whereas Article 130i(3) of the Treaty specifies that the Framework Programme is to be implemented through Specific Programmes developed within each activity under the framework programme; whereas each Specific Programme must define the detailed rules for implementing it, fix its duration and provide for the means deemed necessary;

Whereas this programme may contribute appreciably to increased growth, competitiveness and employment in the Union, as indicated in the White Paper 'Growth, competitiveness, employment' (1).

Whereas this programme will be carried out mainly through shared-cost activities, but also through concerted actions and preparatory, accompanying and support measures;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 130i(3), an estimate should be made of the financial resources needed to carry out this Specific Programme; (whereas the final amounts will be decided upon by the budgetary authority in accordance with the relative priority assigned to the areas covered by this programme within activity I under the Fourth Framework Programme);

Whereas Decision . . ./ . . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) specifies that the overall maximum amount of the Fourth Framework Programme will be re-examined by no later than 30 June 1996 with a view to its being increased; whereas, as a consequence of that re-examination, the amount deemed necessary to carry out this programme could increase;

Whereas the activities to be carried out under this programme will help to develop the scientific knowledge and technical competence which the Union needs in order to fulfil the environmental mandate confered on it in Part Three, Title XVI of the Treaty;

Whereas the content of the Fourth Framework Programme of Community RTD activities was established in accordance with the subsidiarity principle; whereas this Specific Programme specifies the content of the activities to be carried out in accordance with this principle in the field of environment and climate;

Whereas Decision . . ./ . . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme) lays down that Community action is justified if inter alia the research helps to reinforce the economic and social cohesion of the Union and to encourage its harmonious development while at the same time meeting the objective of scientific and technical quality; whereas this programme is intended to help meet these objectives;

Whereas this programme will help to strengthen synergy between the RTD activities carried out in the field of environment and climate by research centres, universities and undertakings, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises in the Member States and between these and the corresponding Community RTD activities;

Whereas the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres (including the JRC), and universities and the rules governing the dissemination of research results provided for in Article 130j of the Treaty apply to this specific programme;

Whereas, in accordance with Article 130m of the Treaty, it may be appropriate to engage in international cooperation activities with international organizations and third countries other than the countries covered by EEA Agreement for the purpose of implementing this programme;

Whereas this programme also comprises activities for the dissemination and utilization of RTD results, in particular vis-à-vis small and medium-sized enterprises, and especially those located in the Member States or regions which participate least in the programme, as well as activities promoting the mobility and training of researchers within this programme to the extent necessary for the proper implementation of the programme;

Whereas provision should be made for measures to encourage the involvement of SMEs in this programme, in particular through technology promotion measures;

Whereas basic research in the field of environment and climate must be encouraged owing to the importance of a detailed understanding of their functioning of the design and implementation of a strategic approach to the lasting protection of the environment;

Whereas an assessment should be made of the economic and social impact and any technological risks associated with the activities carried out under this programme;

Whereas progress with this programme should be continuously and systematically monitored with a view to adapting it, where appropriate, to scientific and technological developments in this area; whereas in due course there should be an independent evaluation of progress with the programme so as to provide all the background information needed in order to determine the objectives of the Fifth RTD Framework Programme; whereas at the end of this programme there should be a final evaluation of the results obtained compared with the objectives set out in this Decision;

Whereas, in the resolution of the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on a Community Programme of Policy and Action in relation to the Environment and Substainable Development (2), scientific research and technical progress were identified as one of the main instruments with which to implement this policy;

Whereas the JRC may participate in the indirect activities covered by this programme;

Whereas the JRC will also contribute, through its own programme of direct activities, to the attainment of the Community RTD objectives in the areas covered by this programme;

Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (Crest) has been consulted,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

A Specific Programme of research and technological development [and of demonstration] in the field of environment and climate, as set out in Annex I, is hereby adopted for the period from (date of adoption of this programme) to 31 December 1998.

Article 2

1. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme is ECU 532 million, including 7,44 % for staff and administrative expenditure.

2. An indicative breakdown of this amount is given in Annex II.

3. The amount deemed necessary for carrying out the programme, as indicated above, could increase as a result of and in accordance with the Decision referred to in Article 1(3) of Decision . . ./ . . ./EC (Fourth Framework Programme).

4. The budgetary authority shall determine the appropriations available for each financial year in accordance with the scientific and technological priorities set in the Fourth Framework Programme.

Article 3

Detailed rules for implementing this programme, in addition to those referred to in Article 5, are set out in Annex III.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall continuously and systematically monitor with appropriate assistance from independent, external experts, the progress within this programme in relation to the objectives set out in Annex I. It shall in particular assess whether the objectives, priorities and financial resources are still appropriate. Where appropriate, it shall submit proposals to adapt or supplement this programme depending on the results of this monitoring process.

2. In order to contribute to the overall assessment of Community activities provided for in Article 4(2) of the Decision adopting the Fourth Framework Programme, the Commission shall, in due course, have an assessment made by independent experts of the activities carried out in the fields directly covered by this programme, and of their management during the five years preceding the assessment.

3. At the end of this programme, the Commission shall instruct independent experts to conduct a final evaluation of the results achieved compared with the objectives set out in Annex III to the Fourth Framework Programme and Annex I to this Decision. The final evaluation report shall be forwarded to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.

Article 5

1. A work programme shall be drawn up by the Commission in accordance with the objectives set out in Annex I and shall be updated where appropriate. It shall set out in detail the scientific and technological objectives and specify the stages in the implementation of the programme and the proposed financial arrangements.

The work programme may also provide for participation in certain activities within the Eureka framework.

2. The Commission shall issue calls for proposals for projects on the basis of the work programme.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme.

In the cases provided for in Article 7(1) the Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of Decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the committee.

If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

If, on the expiry of a period which may in no case exceed one month from the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 7

1. The procedure laid down in Article 6(2) shall apply to:

- the preparation and updating of the work programme referred to in Article 5(1);

- the evaluation of RTD projects put forward for Community funding and of the estimated amount of funding where this exceeds ECU 0,35 million;

- the measures to be undertaken to evaluate the programme;

- any adjustment to the indicative allocation of the amount set out in Annex II which has not been the subject of a budgetary decision.

2. The Commission shall inform the Committee, at each of its meetings, of progress with the implementation of the programme as a whole.

Article 8

The Commission is hereby authorized, in accordance with Article 228(1) of the Treaty, to negotiate international cooperation agreements with European third countries not coverd by the EEA Agreement and with international organizations with a view to involving them in all or part of the programme.

Article 9

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

(1) COM(93) 700 final.

(2) OJ No C 138, 17. 5. 1993, p. 1.

ANNEX I

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT

Introduction

This specific programme fully reflects the approach embodied in the Fourth Framework Programme, applying its selection criteria and specifying its scientific and technological objectives.

Chapter 3 (introduction and Parts A and B) of Annex III, Activity 1 of the Framework Programme forms an integral part of this programme.

The programme incorporates the degree of continuity needed to maintain and develop the RTD capacity set in place during previous programmes. We now need to pursue and make use of the work to build up environmental RTD at European level, in particular by consolidating the establishment of networks of excellence.

As is made clear in the explanatory memorandum, however, the programme will focus on a limited number of themes and areas where action by the Union is justified.

The programme covers three themes: (1) the natural environment, environmental quality and global change, (2) environmental technologies and (3) space technology applied to environmental monitoring and research.

In accordance with the Framework Programme and the Commission's working document COM(93) 459, the research conducted on each theme and on the various areas which constitute them will have to meet the following criteria:

1. It must help strengthen the scientific base needed to implement the Union's environment policy by developing the strategic capacity for such implementation and by reconciling the notions of environmental protection and the sustainable management of resources with Europe's legitimate hopes for development and economic growth (themes 1 to 3).

2. It must help meet the objectives of the world programmes of research into global change (themes 1 and 3) by focusing on those aspects where only the intervention of the Union, in the form of large projects organized in concert with the Member States, is liable to produce significant results.

3. It must contribute to the development of environmental products, technologies, techniques and services which meet new needs and the exploitation of which could help to boost economic growth (on a lasting and sustainable basis) and create new jobs, as is stressed in the Commission's White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employement (COM(93) 700) (themes 2 and 3).

These actions will be carried out on the basis of close cooperation between universities, scientific institutions and undertakings in the Member States, including SMEs.

Technology stimulation measures, based on experience gained in CRAFT activities and feasibility awards, will be introduced in order to encourage and facilitate participation by SMEs.

The programme will be implemented in close collaboration with the other specific programmes, in particular those on 'Industrial and Materials Technologies', 'Non-nuclear Energy', 'Agriculture and Fisheries', 'Measurement and Testing', 'Transport', 'Targeted Socio-economic Research', 'Telematis' and 'Marine Science and Technology'.

Complementary actions will be implemented by the JRC in areas where it is competent, in particular in the areas A I 'Climate change and impact on natural resources', B II 'Instrument, techniques and methods for monitoring the environment', B III 'Technologies and methods to protect the environment', also in Area C 'Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research', described below (1).

A. RESEARCH INTO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND GLOBAL CHANGE

Area I: Climate change and impact on natural resources

1. Dynamic processes in the climate system

Objectives

(a) To work towards a better understanding and description of the basic processes of the climate system, particularly as regards their reciprocal influences on the global and regional scales.

(b) To improve climate models by taking account of and incorporating into them improved knowledge of key climate processes.

Research tasks

1. Analysis and description of land surface/atmosphere interactions and their role in the hydrological cycle, particularly on a regional scale.

2. Analysis and description of the coupling between atmospheric processes and oceanic circulation.

3. Analysis and description of atmosphere-cryosphere-ocean couplings and their role in the climate system.

4. Studies of radiative couplings, including the role of greenhouse gases, clouds and their dynamics, and aerosols.

5. The global cycles of greenhouse gases, their atmospheric balance and their fluxes and transformations in the oceans, the biosphere and the lithosphere.

2. The climatic system in the past

Objective

To contribute to the high-resolution reconstruction of climate conditions and environmental conditions linked to the climate with a view to enriching our documentation on the climate system and improving our understanding of the way it works.

Research tasks

1. Reconstruction of climatic and environmental conditions on a global and regional scale over recent climatic cycles (+/ 250 000 years).

2. Deep cores in old glacial strata and associated glaciological investigation. Modelling of ice rheology and glacia flow.

3. Reconstruction of the evolution of the climate and its variability in the Holocene and the late Holocene.

4. Analysis of the dynamics of climate change and the variability of the reconstructed climates.

3. Modelling and analysis of climate change and variability

Objectives

(a) To be able to describe the evolution of the climate and its variability over the coming decades and centuries.

(b) To help develop high-resolution scenarios of climatic and environmental change, for use in forecasting the impact of climate change.

To meet this objective, Europe's climate modelling centres will be associated in order that the scientific teams may have access to the latest models and instruments.

Research tasks

1. Development and validation of improved climate models.

2. Analysis and description of the present climate and its variability using global and regional data; dynamic assimilation of data and other advanced analytical techniques.

3. Analysis of the climate variability predicted by the current climate models; development and application of statistical methods suitable for validating the model forecasts in relation to actual data.

4. Development of models for the seasonal forecasting of climate parameters, including models for the seasonal forecasting of extremes (precipitation, drought); development of methods to validate these models.

5. Development of downscaling methods to achieve accurate simulation of weather variability (e.g. precipitation) with high spatial and temporal resolution. Development of improved forecasts of change in the type, distribution and frequency of meteorological extremes.

6. Study of feedback into the climate system of longer-term environmental change (decades/centuries), with particular regard to the hydrological cycle and changes in the biosphere.

7. Study of changes in average sea-level, statistics on sea-level, storms and floods, especially in areas subject to flooding.

4. Impact on natural resources

Objectives

To assess the major reactions and the elasticity of natural resources under pressure from man, as well as climate variability and change.

4.1. European water resources

Objective

To provide a full assessment of surface and underground water resources and develop strategies for their future management.

Research tasks

1. Assessment of the response of water resources to change, climate variability and more intensive exploitation; probable resource trends.

2. Development of methods to estimate, forecast and improve the availability of water resources following environmental change, especially in regions where there is likely to be a gap between availability and demand.

3. Development of techniques to re-establish and improve underground water reserves.

4. Assessment of the impact of a variation in sea level on water supplies in coastal regions and in relation to other factors.

5. Assessment and validation of techniques and methods of integrated management.

6. Development of techniques to re-establish the quality of surface and underground water which has been affected by pollution caused by agricultural practices or unsuitable land use.

4.2. Agriculture, forests and the natural environment

Objective

To study and assess the probable effects of climate and other environmental change on crops, forests and other land ecosystems and its consequences for land resources in Europe; to provide a basis for assessing the socio-economic impact of these consequences.

Research tasks

1. Analysis and description of the long-term impact of climate change and other human factors on natural vegetation and on agricultural productivity in Europe.

2. Development, validation and application of regional mechanistic models which describe the effects of changes to the climate and to parameters linked to the climate on forests and other natural ecosystems, taking into account other human factors.

3. Development of forecasting models to assess the reaction of biodiversity to long-term environmental change; development of a scientific base for in situ conservation strategies; establishment of criteria for optimization of the landscape structure with a view to preventing extinction and maintaining appropriate diversity.

4. Study of the particular effects of climate change on the northern forests and on marginal ecosystems such as tundra and taiga in the arctic and subarctic zones.

5. Integrated studies of the effects of the climate and of human factors on mountain ecosystems and establishment of links to assess socio-economic impact.

6. Study of trends in the risk of flooding and landslides in mountainous terrain (e.g. the Alpine region), as linked, notably, to the effects of a change in land use and to a change in snow and ice cover.

7. Development of models to assess the potential impact of increased UV-B radiation on the environment and on health.

8. Assessment of the way in which land use, through such activities as forestry, agricultural practices, urbanization, the collection and processing of waste, water drainage, concentration of specific industrial activities in coastal zones, tourism and civil engineering projects, can influence eutrophication and the contamination of aquatic systems.

9. Development of strategies to attenuate and manage the effects of the anticipated changes.

4.3. Land resources and the threat of desertification in Europe

Objectives

(a) To provide an integrated approach to understanding the process of desertification in Europe in the context of climate change. This will take account of the complex system of varying interdependent factors which lead to the deterioration of land resources in areas susceptible to desertification.

(b) To develop the scientific foundations for rational management of land resources in certain parts of Europe which are threatened or affected by desertification.

Research tasks

1. Integrated research to assess qualitatively and quantitatively the relative roles of the various processes involved in desertification: climatic, hydrological, biological and soil-related.

2. Modelling of the complex dynamics of the various processes concerned, on different spatial and temporal scales, in systems which are desertified or susceptible to desertification, including their repercussions on the climate, so as to predict the future course of the phenomenon.

3. Setting-up of suitable sets of data with which to detect any change and validate models; identifiation of indications of potential desertification.

4. Development and improvement of counter measures and strategies to control and reduce the deterioration of land resources in areas susceptible to desertification, including assessment of essential technological intervention.

Area II: Atmosphere physics and chemistry; Biosphere processes and consequences

II.1: Atmosphere physics and chemistry

Objectives

(a) To understand and predict the processes which are depleting the ozone layer in the stratosphere.

(b) To understand and quantify the chemical processes in the troposphere; to assess the contribution of regional processes (on a European scale) to environmental change on a hemisphere or planetary scale.

Research tasks

1. Stratosphere chemistry and depletion of the ozone layer

1. Collection of data, interpretation and modelling of the dynamics of and trends in the chemical composition of the lower stratosphere at high and medium latitudes in the northern hemisphere; detection of the beginning and the extent of anomalies of a chemical nature and of the resulting loss of ozone; mapping of trends in ozone and trace compound concentrations in the lower stratosphere in time and space; assessment of the impact of chemically anomalous air being transported towards lower latitudes.

2. Understanding and modelling of the homogeneous and heterogeneous processes which influence the distribution and spread of the active radicals of halogens, nitrogen and hydrogen in the stratosphere; study of the dynamics and composition of the air in the lower stratosphere; assessment of the incidence of and trends in solar UV radiation in Europe; assessment of troposhere/stratosphere exchanges.

2. Troposphere physics and chemistry

1. Self-cleansing capacity of the atmophere: study of the chemical and meteorological processes which control concentrations of oxidizing compounds such as hydroxyl and ozone radicals, including the effect of aircraft exhaust emissions on the level of ozone in the atmosphere and the effect of emissions in the Mediterranean basin on the free troposphere in other regions.

2. Identification of the origins of and the physio-chemical alterations to aerosol particles in the atmosphere and their interactions with clouds; studies of the properties and chemistry of clouds.

3. Quantification of the role of natural emissions in atmosphere chemistry: release of volatile organic compounds by vegetation and their contribution to the formation of ozone, release of sulphur compounds through biological activity in the marine environment and biological release of reduced and oxidized forms of nitrogen (dinitrogen oxide and nitrous oxide); assessment of the impact of emissions from fossil fuels, e.g. using installations of the Europhore fumigation chamber type (European photoreactor).

4. Characterization of 'chemical alarm signals' of global change in the atmosphere, such as the depletion of troposphere ozone in the Arctic and high winter concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid in towns.

II.2: Biosphere processes

Objectives

(a) To understand the processes taking place within land, aquatic and coastal ecosystems and the way and the extent to which they are disturbed by environmental change (including the effects of UV-B radiation).

(b) To understand the role of biodiversity in ecosystems; to understand the mechanisms which control the maintenance or evolution of biodiversity and how these mechanisms are influenced by environmental change.

Research tasks

1. The functioning of ecosystems

1. Analysis of ecosystem processes; identification of disturbance to these processes following changes in environmental factors, but allowing for their variability in time and space.

Emphasis should be placed on fluxes of chemical elements, water and energy within and between ecosystems (e.g. between land and coastal ecosystems), on the physio-chemical and biological mechanisms which control such fluxes, in particular the organic matter cycle, and on feedback processes (e.g. those which control gaesous emissions from ecosystems to the atmosphere, the absorption and release of carbon, etc.).

2. Quantification of organic and inorganic pollutant fluxes within and between ecosystems; analysis of the behaviour and transformation of these pollutants and their effects on ecosystem processes.

3. Development of indicators related to the environmental effects of different pollutants and greenhouse gases. If necessary, these may be differentiated by region in order to guide the technological choices and strategies should there be an exchange between the emissions. Such research could contribute to the definition of indicators sensitive to the reduction of different pollutants.

4. Studies of the factors which control the stability of ecosystem structures, their adaptation and their resistance to environmental change.

5. Assessment of the effects of environmental factors on the key biological processes of plants and of microbe populations.

6. Development of functional analysis methods for the integrated management of ecosystems and selected habitats.

7. Determination and comparison of interactions and links between various process and impact phenomena at regional and local scales, such as the links between eutrophication and contamination, and changes in land use; impact of physical processes in contrasting situations.

2. Alteration of processes as a result of UV-B radiation (2)

1. Greater accuracy in the relationship between the dose, depending on the wavelength of the UV radiation, and the response, in cases with the most significant effects.

2. Identification of the mechanisms controlling the adaptation, tolerance and susceptibility of living beings at genotype and phaenotype level.

3. Quantification of the synergetic/antagonistic interactions between UV-B radiation and other aspects of global change, e.g. increased temperature and CO2.

4. Assessment of the chain of secondary effects of UV-B radiation on ecosystem processes and on biogeochemical cycles, e.g. changes in composition, species associations, the speed of litter decomposition, etc.

3. Biodiversity and environmental change (3)

1. Understanding of the role of biodiversity in maintaining the structure, function and stability of ecosystems.

2. Understanding of the mechanisms which adjust biological diversity at the various organizational levels (molecule, gene, species, population, community); assessment of the impact of natural and human factors on these adjustment mechanisms and on biological diversity itself.

Area III: The human dimension of environmental change

1. Socio economic causes and effects of environmental change

Objectives

(a) To understand the main social and economic factors of environmental change at global and European level.

(b) To gauge the principal risks and impact of environmental change on the economy and society, and more specifically in the European Union.

Research tasks

1. Analysis of the relative contributions of the main economic activities and of social behaviour to environmental change at global and European level; development of appropriate ratings of environmental pressure and of models relating to critical interactions leading to environmental deterioration.

2. Assessment of the scale of the impact of environmental change on society and on such key economic sectors as agriculture, livestock breeding, industry, transport and tourism, with particular attention to regions characterized by great environmental and social vulnerability (e.g. coastal zones, urban zones, regions of high unemployment, etc.); development of measurements of socio-economic impact such as damages and avoidance cost; notion of consent to pay; indicators of quality of life, etc.

2. Economic and social responses to environmental problems

Objectives

(a) To identify and assess possible options in the field of social and economic action in response to critical environmental situations.

(b) To formulate economic and social criteria with which to assess progress in the realization of sustainable development.

Research tasks

1. Establishment of appropriate quantitative indicators of 'environmental sustainability', in space and time, in key economic sectors, with reference to the total stock of natural and human capital, ecological support capacity (including ecological diversity and the functioning of ecosystems), efficacy of materials and use of energy (industrial metabolism), and incorporating ethical considerations relating to the environment (e.g. fairness to and between present and future generations).

2. Development of the necessary instruments to evaluate and compare various instruments of environment policy.

3. Development of methodological approaches with which to incorporate environmental costs and benefits into economic performance indicators; establishment of key approaches to the application of accounting systems adjusted to the environment at several levels; improvement of techniques to internalize environmental costs; assessment of hypotheses and ethical implications, while stressing alternative systems of environmental assessment.

4. To provide support for lowering the methodological, political and institutional barriers to preventive management of the environment by developing appropriate techniques with which to integrate environmental aspects into such key sectoral policies as agriculture, development aid, energy and transport and by improving the economic efficiency and the scientific base of the environmental regulatory instruments (e.g. economic incentives, financial instruments, 'tradable pollution quotas'), release and quality of environmental standards, etc.

3. Integration of scientific knowledge and economic and social considerations into the framing of environmental policies

Objectives

(a) To analyze and improve the use of scientific knowledge and develop methods to deal with uncertainty in the framing of environment policies.

(b) To establish generic and interdisciplinary approaches to optimize the combination of scientific gauging of risk with socio-economic assessment of risk in environmental risk management.

(c) To step up the capacity to use environmental statistics with a view to drawing up the policies concerned.

Research tasks

1. Development of new approaches integrating scientific and socio-economic parameters into the management of natural and technological risks. To conduct case studies on complex problems involving several components of the environment with a view to studying and improving the management of risks integrated at local and regional level (e.g. the Mediterranean basin, wetlands, alpine regions, urban environment; waste and problems related to water management).

2. To assess and improve the methods and procedures for using scientific knowledge in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of environmental and other policies; to examine alternative approaches so as to take account of scientific uncertainty in the formulation of policies, and taking account also of such essential environmental principles as the 'principle of prevention'.

3. Development of models to establish links between damage to the environment and the other relevant physical and socio-economic variables. This will be achieved by improving the design and definition of information systems on environmental damage and of techniques for integrating environmental data.

B. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

Area I: Sustainable development and technological change

Objectives

(a) To understand the key parameters of environmentally sustainable technological development and its interaction with competitiveness and employment in the European Union.

(b) To develop methodologies to assess and maximize the contribution of RTD to sustainable development.

Research tasks

1. Develop and apply criteria (e.g. economic, regulatory, employment potential, social acceptability) for the specification of core technologies which promise competitive advantage as a result of environmental improvements: either by means of 'generic', innovations such as minimization of materials, improved product design, etc.; or by systematic assessments of possible technological responses to critical environmental problems (e.g. global warming, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, water shortages, soil degradation, etc.).

2. Develop methods for cost-risk-benefit of evaluation of technologies which have a major impact on the environment, including integrated assessment approaches at the regional process and production levels (e.g. cost-benefit analysis, eco-audits, cumulative environmental impact assessment, industrial metabolism/life-cycle analysis, process re-engineering); incorporate sustainability criteria into the formulation, assessment and utilization of European RTD activities.

3. Elucidate the links between social preferences based on environmental considerations and technological change, e.g. social acceptability of technologies, societal preference for 'green' products; impact of new ideas on environmental protection such as life-cycle management, extension of producer liability, etc.; develop combined environmental/commercial performance indicators; undertake studies of successful approaches to sustainable development at the level of the company.

4. Elucidate the links between various types of environment policy instrument (legislation; market instruments) and their influence on technological development.

Area II: Instruments, techniques and methods for monitoring the environment

Objectives

(a) To help develop and improve analytical and monitoring methods for certain components of the environment with a view to better monitoring and forecasting of environmental change.

This contribution will be made (a) in the form of concerted actions, associating manufacturers and potential users of instruments, the JRC, in those areas which concern it, and the Measurement and Testing RTD programme; these concerted actions will aim to identify the needs of potential users and guide development work, and (b) through supplementary RTD projects in the areas not covered by the Measurement and Testing RTD programme.

(b) To develop procedures and methods for the identification and study of environmental change (land and coastal environments).

These objectives will, among others, aim to meet the needs of the European Environmental Agency.

Research tasks

1. Contribute to the development of highly sensitive rapid-response instruments for the ground or airborne measurement of the trace compounds of the atmosphere which cause important environmental phenomena (depletion of the ozone layer, changes in UV radiation, photo-chemical reactions, etc.).

2. Contribute to the development of analytical methods to identify and measure certain organic substances in industrial waste water.

3. Contribute to the development of biosensors for application in environmental monitoring where conventional methods prove inadequate, e.g. with respect to sensitivity, selectivity, precision, reliability, sample preparation, on-line monitoring, cost-effectiveness.

4. Development and validation of land, airborne and spaceborne methods and procedures for the early detection of changes in the continental and coastal environment and for studying the evolution of such changes.

5. Development of new technologies to provide improved dosimetry of UV-B radiation.

6. Development of new methods of environmental archeometry to permit the reconstruction of the environmental conditions of the past.

Area III: Technologies and methods to protect the environment

Objectives

(a) To develop methods for the identification, estimation, comparative assessment and management of the risks posed to the environment, natural resources and human health by industrial processes (regular activities and accidents) and products (including chemical products).

(b) To help develop industrial and synthetic products which pose fewer risks to the environment; to help develop, improve and apply the entire range of environment technologies, from preventive to remedial technologies.

This contribution will be made (a) in the form of concerted actions associating scientists responsible for analysing environmental risk, enterprises responsible for technological development, enterprises liable to benefit from technological development, the JRC, in the areas which concern it, the legislator and the 'Industrial and Materials Technologies' RTD programme, and (b) in the form of supplementary RTD projects in the fields not covered by the 'Industrial and Materials Technologies' RTD programme.

Research tasks

1. Methods of estimating and managing risks

1. Improvement of exposure assessment methods for hazards and risks to health and the environment from chemicals, (particularly for early indicators of exposure); the development of suitable effects assessment methodologies, including alternatives to the use of animals in testing. This research will include methods for exposure prediction. Key elements of this research theme include the validation of existing assessment and testing methods through improving both the quality of the data used and the scientific bases for their inherent assumptions, particularly the validity of the extrapolations used e.g. in vitro to in vivo tests, animal models to man, laboratory to field, high to low doses, specific populations to vulnerable groups, and from single exposures to exposures to mixtures of chemicals.

Care will be taken to ensure consistency between these research activities and those undertaken under the 'Life Sciences and Technologies' programme as well as the work of the JRC's European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods.

2. Development of methodologies to analyse the complete life-cycles of industrial and synthetic products, their effects on natural resources, consumption of energy and their effects on the environment at the various stages of their existence, from raw material, through manufacture, up to the final use of products and their disposal in the form of waste; development of methodologies for comparing the impact of substitute products.

Development of methodologies to assess the impcat of industrial processes on the environment, natural resources and energy consumption; development of a methodology for comparing the impact of alternative industrial processes.

Atmosphere pollution will serve as a test case in which to integrate all the above aspects in a paradigm of risk management to control air quality, i.e. from characterization of emissions and assessment of exposure and effects, biomonitoring and risk analysis, to helping to develop control measures.

3. Better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the accidental release by industry of products which harm the environment or human health; development of safety management systems and systems to attenuate effects. Research should be geared primarily to materials and production systems which, owing to their high toxicity, their widespread use in industry or their physical properties (e.g. tendency to form clouds which remain close to the ground) cause risks which become apparent far from their source. Work on this theme should be linked to the EU's policy on the prevention of industrial accidents and accidents in the workplace.

2. Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment

1. Contribute to the development and improvement of industrial processes and products so as to prevent or minimize their impact on the environment.

2. Contribute to the development and improvement of integrated technologies to minimize solid, liquid and gaseous emissions. The technological choice must be based on a thorough understanding of the exchange between pollutants.

3. Contribute to the development and improvement of new technologies for the recycling of materials, including their decomposition to re-usable raw materials and the recovery of energy and waste. Study of systems to encourage product recyclability.

4. Management of dangerous waste; development of safe procedures to process dangerous waste, including recycling of materials or recovery of energy to help make the operation profitable, where appropriate. Processing of residues to ensure they are detoxified, stable and safely disposed of.

3. Technologies to protect and rehabilitate historical and industrial sites

In accordance with European Union policies, research for the protection and preservation of the cultural heritage will be reinforced. The scientific base for the identification and assessment of the consequences of technology needs to be broadened. Research on this theme will be supplemented by assessment of the environmental risk factors (including the effects of tourism) for a range of materials, via the development and improvement of non-destructive methods of analysis and measurement, methods of mapping risks and damage, etc.

The programme will contribute to the development of technologies to rehabilitate polluted industrial sites and abandoned waste dumps; development of rapid, non-invasive methods to localize and measure contaminants and study absorption/desorption processes and the pathways and bio-availability of pollutants to help establish suitable practices for in situ rehabilitation technologies.

Area IV: Technologies to forecast, prevent and reduce natural risks

Objective

To contribute to the development of methodologies and technologies for the early warning, reduction and management of natural risks (seismic, volcanic, forest fires, meteorological and hydrogeological).

Research tasks

1. Hydrogeological risks

1. Development and validation of methodologies to prevent flooding on the basis of in situ data and remote sensing (radar systems, satellites), including the development of methodologies for the modelling of spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, particularly in complex terrain. Development of and experimentation with flood models (water training models), including appropriate coverage of the behaviour of layers of snow and ice.

2. Improvement of the monitoring of landslides and of warning techniques. Monitoring and mapping of landslide risks.

2. Seismic risk

1. Development of advanced technologies to observe and analyse stress, strain and displacements in tectonically strategic areas with the aid of modern space technologies. Development of advanced instrumentation to localize and detect earthquakes.

2. Development of advanced automatic sensors for continuous monitoring and control of earthquake-related phenomena including effects on human habitat in tectonically strategic zones, appearing either during or before seismic activity. Integration and validation of warning systems and the systems referred to above, to forecast earthquakes and tsunamis. Improvement and harmonization of structures and technological devices for the acquisition, transmission, storage and exchange at European level of earthquake data.

3. Improvement of European data bases in the field of seismic risk.

3. Volcanic risk

1. Development of and experimentation with automatic sensors for monitoring geophysical and geochemical phenomena. Development and validation of automatic systems to monitor volcano activity. Development of and experimentation with remote sensing techniques to monitor eruption clouds. Development of data processing methods to integrate these diverse sources of information (e.g. monitoring data and in situ geophysical and geochemical data).

2. Development of mobile warning systems.

4. Forest fires

1. Mapping of fire risk and assessment of fire damage by means of remote sensing; modelling of fire behaviour; improvement of the scientific base necessary for the development of tools to manage and reduce forest fires. Improvement of risk ratings, collection and analysis of statistical data on forest fires.

C. SPACE TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH

Area I: Methodological research and pilot projects

As a relatively new technique, Earth observation (EO) will require further research and development, as well as practical application, in order to reach its full potential to deliver benefits in the public interest commensurate with the on-going investment in the space segment.

Objectives

(a) To improve the European technical capability in EO data treatment and interpretation.

(b) To develop applications of EO data of European interest, and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the derived information.

Research tasks

Research projects should focus on application areas which are relevant to the policies and interests of the European Union. Projects may be directly linked and/or support other research activities of the Framework Programme, particularly in the fields of the Environment and Marine Science.

A programme of cost-shared research will complement the direct action of the JRC by fostering improved cooperation between environmental researchers, EO scientists, value-added companies and the providers of space data.

1. Methodological research should aim to overcome specific problems currently inhibiting the use of EO data in a specific application, or should address basic scientific and technical problems relevant to a broad group of EO applications. Projects will involve the participation of both EO scientists and application specialists as appropriate.

The following technical themes will be addressed:

1. Development of new techniques and improvement of existing techniques to obtain useful geophysical information from EO data provided by new or existing sensors. Research projects will relate to specific application, notably in the fields of climate change, environmental management, environmental protection, forestry and fisheries.

2. Development of generic tools and techniques for automated pre-processing, interpretation and integration of data. Projects will be coordinated with research into expert systems, neural networks, parallel processing and integrated (geographical information systems) GIS undertaken at the JRC. In particular, appropriate data models and structures for GIS will be developed with a view to facilitating the integration into the statistical information systems of data derived from Earth observation.

3. Support towards the planning of field measurements and ground data gathering campaigns, and development of improved procedures for calibrations and validation.

2. Pilot projects are to test the cost-effectiveness in an operational environment of selected applications for which the basic technical feasibility has already been demonstrated.

Pilot projects will normally consist of the following elements: analysis of the operational needs of cooperating user (or users), and the value of the EO-derived information as a function of information quality; identification of a suitable data supply chain and suitable processing schemes to derive the required information; preparation of an implementation plan, showing the close involvement of a collaborating user; establishment of a pre-operational pilot system.

Where appropriate links will be sought with relevant actions of the JRC, notably in the domains of environmental monitoring, tropical forest assessment, biomass burning, agricultural monitoring, and ocean colour.

Pilot projects may also be established within the framework of the implementation of the CEO (Research Area III) in order to test infrastructures for data handling and to help establish coherent user communities.

Area II: Research and development work on advanced sensor technologies

The Commission acts both as a major customer itself, and as a proxy for other users, with a special concern to encourage the development of continuing operational services. The completion of the development of the instruments Vegetation and AMAS, based on activities from Member States agencies, will be considered as test cases.

Objective

To ensure that space instruments of relevance to European Union policy are defined and developed to meet the requirements of existing and potential users.

Research tasks

Instruments of relevance to EU policy could be developed according to needs expressed by users. Technical support will be provided as appropriate by the JRC.

Area III: Centre for Earth observation

An effective ground infrastructure is needed to enable the growing community of users to make optimum use of available data, and to allow the emergence of operational applications.

Objective

To encourage the use of EO data through the development of a European decentralized network for space data management and access.

Research tasks

A programme of work for the implementation of a Centre for Earth Observation will be executed on the basis of the results of the Pathfinder Phase to be completed by the end of 1994. The CEO will aim to improve the distribution and access to the data and derived products, increase the user-base and improving cooperation among users, encourage standards and provide certification and quality assurance, provide long-term archive, and ensure access to foreign space data networks.

Cost-shared research will complement related initiatives of the JRC and Member States. Specific topics may include the following:

- development of data and archive systems;

- establishment of services to provide high-level data products to routine users of EO data (i.e. a publishing service aimed at a large number of users);

- establishment of libraries of robust, well-documented and transferable data processing algorithms to service specific communities of users;

- actions designed to assist different user communities to coordinate and specify their evolving needs.

In addition, pilot projects undertaken under section theme A, may contribute to the implementation and testing of the CEO.

(1) A more detailed description of the JRC's research activities, which are defined in a proposal for a separate Council Decision, is given in Annex IV for information in order to ensure the transparency in relation to their complementarity with corresponding indirect actions.

(2) The improvement of UV-B radiation dosimetry via the perfecting of measuring techniques is dealt with in Area II of Environment Technologies.

(3) The programme does not include research on the conservation or extinction of specific species or communities.

ANNEX II

>TABLE>

ANNEX III

DETAILED RULES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME

1. The detailed rules for the Community's financial contribution are laid down in Annex IV to the Decision on the Fourth Framework Programme.

The detailed rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities and for the dissemination of results will be laid down as provided for in Article 130j of the Treaty. However, for the purpose of implementing this programme, the following exceptions shall apply:

1.1. Participation in this programme is open, with financial support from the Community:

(a) to all legal entities, established and regularly carrying out RTD activities

- in the Community, or

- in a third country associated, wholly or in part, with the implementation of the relevant programme through an agreement concluded between the Community and the said third country

(b) to the Joint Research Centre.

1.2. Participation in this programme is open, without financial support from the Community, and on condition that their participation is in the interests of Community policies:

(a) for part A 'Research on the natural environment, environmental quality and global change' to any legal entity,

(b) for part B 'Environmental technologies' and C 'Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research'

(i) to legal entities established in a country which has concluded a scientific and technical cooperation agreement with the Community relating to activities covered by the programme, provided the participation accords with the terms of the agreement,

(ii) to legal entities established in a European country,

(iii) to international research organizations.

1.3. The participation of European international organizations may be financed on the same basis as that for Community organizations in duly specified cases.

1.4. The programme will include assessment of the socio-economic impact of the research results. Where necessary, proposals will also have to provide for assessment of the potential risks to the environment posed by the proposed research activity. The studies to assess socio-economic impact will be carried out in close collaboration with the programme on Targeted Socio-economic Research so as to ensure optimum exploitation and continued use of their findings.

2. This programme will be carried out in the form of indirect actions, namely the financial participation by the Community in RTD activities carried out by third parties or by JRC institutes in association with third parties:

2.1. Shared-cost activities covering the following possible procedures:

- RTD projects carried out by undertakings, research centres and universities, including consortia for integrated projects with a common theme;

- technology stimulation to encourage and facilitate the participation of SMEs by means of awards covering the exploratory phase, including the search for partners, of RTD activity and through cooperative research. Such awards will be granted following selection of draft proposals, which may be submitted at any time;

- support for financing the infrastructure or installations necessary for coordinated action (closer coordination).

2.2. Concerted action, which involves the coordination, particularly in the form of concertation networks, of RTD projects already funded by public authorities or private bodies. Concerted action can also include the requisite coordination of thematic networks bringing together manufacturers, users, universities and research centres to work on the same technological or industrial objective through shared-cost RTD activities (cf. first paragraph of Section 2.1).

2.3. Preparatory, accompanying and support measures

Objective

To improve coordination, cooperation and the exchange of information between European researchers; to assist the smooth running of the national and international programmes by encouraging the rational use of research infrastructures and the transfer of expertise and knowledge; to develop international cooperation.

Activity themes

- studies in support of this programme and in preparation for future activities;

- conferences, seminars, workshops or other scientific or technical meetings, including intersectoral or multidisciplinary coordination meetings;

- use of external expertise, including access to scientific databases;

- scientific publications including dissemination, promotion and utilization of results;

- studies to assess the socio-economic consequences and any technological risks associated with all the projects under this programme;

- training activities related to research coverd by this programme;

- independent evaluation of programme administration and of the implementation of the activities;

- development of international scientific cooperation, in particular in the area of research into global change, including with the developing countries;

- measures in support of the operation of networks to provide information and decentralized assistance to SMEs in coordination with Euromanagement - auditing activity of RTD.

With a view to focusing the Community's research effort and giving it a higher profile in the context of world research into global change, the research activities envisaged in this area will be carried out within the framework of the European Network for Research into Global Change (Enrich). Such activities will be pointed in a direction which ensures that the research effort will help meet the objectives of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme (HDP), and that the results can be used in the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme of action for the environment. Account will also be taken of the scientific requirements expressed in the setting-up of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS). In addition, programme activities will be coordinated with those of the Marine Science and Technology Programme.

Finally, programme implementation will include close linkage with the corresponding JRC activities and collaboration with the other Community research programmes, whereover necessary, and with the European Environment Agency. Appropriate collaboration will also be set up with the corresponding activities of the Eureka programme.

The activities relating to dissemination and utilization of results carried out under this programme will complement those of the third activity and will be closely coordinated with them. The RTD project partners constitute privileged networks for the dissemination and utilization of results. They will be enhanced by means of publications, conferences, promotion of results, studies of technical and economic potential, etc. In order to ensure optimum exploitation, account must be taken from the outset in RTD projects of factors that can encourage subsequent utilization of results.

2.4. Specific measures such as action to promote standardization, and measures to provide general tools to research centres, universities and undertakings. The Community's contribution covers up to 100 % of the cost of these measures.

ANNEX IV

DESCRIPTION OF THE JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE'S (JRC) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CORRESPONDING TO THE AREAS COVERED BY THIS SPECIFIC PROGRAMME AND THE SUBJECT OF THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION FOR THE JRC PROGRAMME (COM(94) 68 FINAL - 94/0095 (CNS))

The JRC will contribute to the promotion of environmental protection in close cooperation with the corresponding shared cost action programme and through the following three sectors:

- Natural environment, environmental quality and global change

- Technologies for environmental protection

- Applied space techniques for environmental monitoring and research

The European Community should make a major contribution to international research into global change, in particular by participating in major initiatives undertaken by the scientific community, such as the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - the activities of the European IGAC (International Global Atmosphere Chemistry) Project Office (EIPO) will be continued at Ispra for IGBP - the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Human Dimension Programme (HDP).

In this context, the Joint Research Centre will concentrate its research on:

- the surveillance and study - particularly using remote sensing technology - of biosphere-atmosphere interactions and interactions between the processes taking place on land and in the ocean and the related parameters affecting climate change;

- physical and chemical analyses of atmospheric processes (in particular the study of sulphur in the atmosphere), including the behaviour of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions. This should include both measurements and modelling;

- the surveillance of global change by remote sensing through the development of advanced Earth observation techniques. This should include research into the development of techniques for using space data obtained from satellite observation for the surveillance of the marine environment and of changes in the terrestial ecosystem. A number of advanced techniques (including those of a statistical nature) for using the new Earth observation system should also be developed.

In addition the JRC will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Centre for Earth Observation (CEO).

The scientific community and decision-makers need accurate and consistent Earth observation data spanning a long period. To meet this urgent need, the European Community should set up the Centre for Earth Observation in close cooperation with the Member States and in association with the European Space Agency. This project is designed to guarantee users continuous and long-term availability of consistent data relating to Earth observation. It will set up a decentralized network of interested European bodies and thus bring users, the bodies responsible for thematic analysis and data-processing centres together in a single forum. The role of focal point of such a network should be performed by the JRC, while the programmes of shared-cost action will provide support for the national components of the network.

The JRC will also contribute to the Enrich network by making its scientific research on global change available.

The JRC will continue to contribute to improving environmental quality, mainly through research on air and water quality and the evaluation of the risks arising from chemical products and waste. Research into air quality inside buildings will also be continued, as will the study of pollution caused by metals in trace quantities.

Research into innovative technologies for environmental protection will aim to:

- improve industrial safety and environmental management by providing industry, research bodies and the public authorities with innovative methodologies (in particular design tools) for evaluation of the safety of chemical installations;

- developing mechanisms for the control of chemical reactions which might become uncontrollable, tools for predicting the dispersion of toxic or flammable products and the consequences of combustion and explosion.