The main goal of the CEESEU project is to build the capacity of public administrators in Central and Eastern Europe to develop Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) that promote increased energy efficiency, sustainable energy, reduced carbon emissions and improved climate change adaptability, helping the region to contribute towards meeting the EU's climate goals. CEE municipalities have lagged behind their Western European counterparts in developing SECAPs due to a number of reasons such as a lack of awareness and interest in the planning process, lack of expertise, capacity and access to resources as well as the need for outreach strategies or procedural changes by EU level actors, such as the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), that will better address the unique circumstances of the CEE. To address these concerns, the CEESEU project will: - Create training materials and train local public administrators in the CEE on developing and implementing SECAPs, taking into account the specific contexts of CEE communities; - Guide CEE municipalities in engaging with stakeholders and carrying out multi-level governance to develop SECAPs; - Guide CEE municipalities in financing and implementing SECAP actions; - Improve engagement between public administrators in the CEE and with the EU; - Offer guidance to the CoM and other EU actors on how to better reach and serve the needs of CEE municipalities in the development and implementation of SECAPs. As a result of the CEESEU project, several important longer-term impacts will be achieved: - 650 GWh of energy savings by the end of the project; - Improved capacity and skills of at least 645 public administrators in CEE municipalities; - Better alignment of national and regional development plans with SECAPs in the CEESEU countries and improved national and regional sustainable energy and energy efficiency policies; - At least 25 mln Euros of sustainable energy and climate change adaptation investments.

The aim of PANEL 2050 project is to create durable and replicable sustainable energy networks at local (municipality/community) level, where relevant local stakeholders collaborate for the creation of a local energy visions, strategies and action plans for the transition towards low carbon communities in 2050. The PANEL 2050 project will focus on the creation of these sustainable local energy networks in CEE countries, where this type of networks at local level is almost completely absent and therefore additional support is needed for the creation of the first successful local energy networks that have the potential to set an example and a new standard for local energy road mapping in other local communities in the CEE region. Furthermore, the PANEL 2050 project will not choose a specific focus on a certain type of stakeholder, but will try to work at the local level and assemble all relevant and available stakeholders related to sustainable energy. The number and type of stakeholders will vary very much in different local settings and the ambition of this project is to create sustainable energy networks at local level that will connect and involve all relevant stakeholders that are present at local level into the local policy development and implementation. At present, the involvement of local shareholders in local policy development in any field in CEE countries is very limited and the aim of this project is to create durable sustainable energy networks in a number of local communities in different CEE countries that will also be a replicable example that can be spread to other communities in CEE countries. Introducing stakeholder concept to energy planning will help generate sustainable energy policies and create more sustainable future for Europe.

Urgent and concerted action can stop and reverse unsustainable land use and the over-exploitation of land resources. This will however require rapid, simultaneous and coordinated action by a diversity of land use decision makers. MOSAIC aims therefore to achieve the following objectives: 1. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the motivations and drivers behind land use decisions (e.g. cultural factors, social identities, cognitive frameworks, market prices, legal frameworks, etc.), including their relative importance and interactions, within and between relevant governance levels, ranging from individual land managers to supra-national organisations. 2. To gain a thorough understanding of the awareness of key land use decision makers about climate change, biodiversity loss and renewable energy challenges, and their willingness to address these challenges. 3. To characterise future land use patterns based on spatial, social and economic models that integrate key insights into the motivations and drivers behind land use related decisions and the result of these decisions in causing displacement effects, i.e. indirect land use changes in other parts of the world. 4. To support policy design and implementation for climate change, renewable energy and biodiversity, by means of innovative cost-effective instruments and approaches co-created in policy labs contributing to and elaborating on MOSAIC’s research results in a transdisciplinary way. 5. To develop an interactive digital learning environment, embedded within a digital toolbox comprising proven technologies and approaches consistent with long-term European sustainability goals and strategies to support land use decision processes at governance levels ranging from local to supra-national scales. Interdisciplinary SSH research linked to state-of-the-art land use modelling will be core to this project, and will be embedded in a transdisciplinary research approach based on policy labs.

The 2030 & 2050 Green Deal goals push EU towards integrated solutions & clear targets. EcoDaLLi, embedded in the Mission 'Restore our Ocean, seas & waters by 2030' will help achieve freshwater targets of European Green Deal, integrating a systemic approach for restoration, protection & preservation for the entire Danube Basin, provided by coordinated actions. The main objective of EcoDaLLi is to centralise Danube governance structures in terms of innovative solutions for improved ecological restoration, protection and preservation of the Danube basin and its Delta by fostering a stronger innovation ecosystem within a well-connected Practices Living Lab System, supported by a digital Portal, completly linked to the Mission Implementation Platform. Innovative solutions open new opportunities for better water restoration, taking into consideration social innovation aspects, reducing climate change effects and reducing also costs. An improved governance at Danube Basin level, based on dedicated EcoDaLLi tools will foster such innovative solutions, change mindsets on water ecosystems restoration and climate change and develop value chains based on ecosystem services. This will contribute to the decarbonisation goal of Green Deal, cleaner water, improved state of the environment, land creation of jobs in sensitive areas along the basin, especially in the Danube Delta. EcoDaLLi will support innovators connect to governance structures, providing and maintaining networks, trough dedicated Living Labs for knowledge co-creation, workshops, a custom made digital portal for synergies, and innovation support services, to experiment with new solutions, helping the innovation ecosystem to create circular services towards Sustainable Blue Economy in the Danube Basin and beyond.

The Danube River Basin (DRB) faces significant challenges associated with river sediments. In the 2021 update of the Danube River Basin Management Plan, sediment balance alteration emerged as a new sub-topic within the existing Significant Water Management Issue titled "Hydromorphological alterations." Additionally, sectors like industry, urban sewage, and agriculture call for sediment quality evaluations throughout the DRB. However, the absence of standard sediment monitoring limits our understanding of risks. Addressing the sediment mismanagement in the DRB, the iNNO SED project aims to establish the Danube Sediment ‘Lighthouse’ Knowledge Centre. This centre will: • Introduce a set of innovative methods for monitoring and modelling sediment quantity and quality, thereby deepening our knowledge of sediment processes. • Provide innovative sediment management practices to improve sediment continuity and quality in DRB sections facing with sediment-related issues. • Showcase co-created innovative measures through demonstration activities, while also evaluating their socio-economic and environmental aspects. • Empower the public with innovative knowledge transfer methodologies. • Collaborate with five Associated Regions, transferring the iNNO SED solutions to other river basins. To accomplish these goals, iNNO SED will leverage the achievements and key contributors of the DanubeSediment and SIMONA initiatives. Moreover, it will engage relevant stakeholders of sediment management, such as ICPDR, policy makers, river managers, hydropower plant managers, waterway authorities, national parks, environmental agencies, SMEs, and more. iNNO SED will represent a pioneering approach to sediment management in large international river basins. This approach sets an example for other major global river systems like the Amazon, Mekong, or Niger. In doing so, it aligns with the Mission's objective of intensifying the European Union's competitiveness.