EIT Climate-KIC ‘Extraordinary Post COVID-19 Regeneration Call 2020’ will select projects and programs with the potential to restructure and regenerate our economies in the wake of the health pandemic and in anticipation of future climate, ecological and health crises.

Beyond the dramatic healthcare crisis caused by the global pandemic, we are also facing another crisis: a shock to our economy tougher than any crisis since the 1930s Great Depression, according to IMF. Recent data from Capital Economics show the impact of the coronavirus pandemic could knock up to 15 percent of eurozone GDP in the second quarter of the year compared to the first quarter.

Today, EIT Climate-KIC launches an Extraordinary Post COVID-19 Regeneration Call 2020 to support more programs and projects which directly respond to and support emergency response from the impacts of COVID-19 and propose innovative solutions to address these impacts. Teams interested in the call have until May 22, 2020, to express their interest. A separate but aligned Call will support green companies affected by COVID-19 through the rest of 2020. With these Calls, EIT Climate-KIC will contribute to address the urgent needs for regeneration and for transitioning our economies towards reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050: A goal that is at the heart of the European Green Deal.

“The impacts of the pandemic on the economy, businesses and workers calls for a strong co-ordinated economic response. Now is our chance to correct course. EIT Climate-KIC is therefore supporting the call for a European Green Recovery, which asks for a reboot of the economy,” Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of EIT Climate-KIC said.

The aim of the Extraordinary Post COVID-19 Regeneration Call 2020 is to test the models needed for COVID-19 response and regeneration in the green economy; create scaling and/or leverage mechanisms to support both the regeneration of economies and job creation aligned with net-zero-carbon emissions; and to strengthen resilience to future crises. For more information, check https://www.climate-kic.org/get-involved/apply-for-a-grant/.

(WBJ)