SBCA Conference 2025: the economics of climate change

SBCA 2025

Athens, Greece

The 2025 European Conference of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis (SBCA) takes place in Athens, Greece, on 27-28 November 2025. The Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) hosts the event through its Research Laboratory on Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES).

The conference promotes the use of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) in science as a tool to inform policy and investment decisions. A crucial mission at a time when the hidden costs of climate change increasingly threaten social well-being. We have discussed this very topic in our June workshop in Lecce on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change (https://www.lifewatch.eu/2025/06/13/biodiversity-ecosystem-responses).

In this context, advancing the theoretical foundations and empirical applications of sustainable development becomes essential. The SBCA 2025 aims to contribute to this effort by highlighting methodological excellence, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical applications of BCA for evidence-based decision-making.

Under the leadership of Professor Phoebe Koundouri, the conference will focus on environmental, natural resource, and energy issues. Director of ReSEES, and faculty member at AUEB’s Department of International and European Economic Studies, Prof. Koundouri is in fact internationally recognised for her innovative, human-centred, and interdisciplinary approaches for a sustainable interaction between nature, society, and the economy.

The conference will explore topics such as methodological advances in BCA, environment, climate, and energy policy, health and social policy evaluation, infrastructure and urban development, governance and regulation, and innovation, ethics, and social justice, opened by two keynote speeches:

  • Anastasios Xepapadeas, Cost-Benefit Analysis under Climate Change: Fat Tails and Extreme Events
  • Anna Alberini, The Benefits and Costs of Energy Assistance and Special Energy Pricing Programs

Together, they bring extensive expertise in climate change economics, growth and sustainability, cost-benefit analysis, and risk and uncertainty, econometrics, energy and environmental policy, health and safety economics, and non-market valuation.

There is still time to register at the Early Registration rate until 20 October. More information and registration details are available at https://sbca2025.aueb.gr.

EuroGEO 2025

EuroGEO 2025

The EuroGEO 2025 workshop has the objective to consolidate and coordinate European activities that contribute to GEO (Group on Earth Observations) initiatives. The event takes place every year, and in 2025 it is based in The Hague, Netherlands. From 13 to 15 October, the Earth Observations community will “combine, coordinate and cooperate” to advancing collective Earth Intelligence under the message #OneEuroGeo – One Voice.

The European landscape is constantly evolving both at EU level, and at GEO level: there is now a strong need to coordinate and integrate a huge number of resources to address global and regional challenges, and a shift of focus from “Earth observation” to “Earth Intelligence”, and from services to equity. Therefore, the workshop’s objectives are to accelerate the delivery of Earth Intelligence by strengthening Europe’s contributions to the GEO Work Programme, reinforcing the links to Copernicus, and aligning research, innovation, and national coordination with global and European priorities.

The agenda is structured in three days, with interactive sessions supported by facilitators, engaging panel discussions and peer-to-peer exchanges and engagement with experts. The first day offers an overview on “Vision and Global Engagement”, while Day 2 and Day 3 are dedicated to “Research and Innovation in action”, and “National GEOs and Implementation”.

LifeWatch ERIC will participate in the Action Group Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Geodiversity with the presentation Virtual Research Environments and LifeWatch ERIC, by CEO Christos Arvanitidis.

For more information visit: https://eurogeosec.eu/egw2025

ENERGYTRAN: Advancing a Sustainable Energy Transition in Ibero-America

environmentally sustainable energy transition

In the framework of the EULAC ENERGYTRAN Project, a virtual thematic event titled “Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Energy Transition” will take place on 8–9 October, providing a forum to examine the ecological implications of alternative energy systems and to share successful cases in public policy and regulation.

Date: 8–9 October
Time: 16:00 – 18:00 (CEST)
Open event with prior registration
Audience: civil society, private sector, policymakers, and all those interested in the topic.
The event will feature simultaneous subtitles in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

Key speakers will include experts such as Fernando Valladares (Spain) and Natalia Andrea Restrepo Vélez (Commission for Environmental Cooperation), among others.

The objective of this event is to foster the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and best practices among researchers, policymakers, civil society, and the private sector from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. By doing so, it aims to address the shared environmental challenges of the energy transition and to promote collaboration in research and innovation.

We invite you to join the dialogue, explore collaborative paths, and help disseminate this initiative’s relevance in promoting innovation, equity, and sustainability across Ibero-America.

Registration link: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=RCDnxlDvVUG4M1R-c13LgrfJnaUTBTJMmr50KbQZVqRUOENFNE1XTFMySjVOQTNOVEdOSURUTjBPVC4u&route=shorturl

ERSAC 2025: European Services on Agroecology Conference

European Research Services on Agroecology

Kaunas, Lithuania

The second ERSAC – European Research Services on Agroecology Conference takes place in Kaunas, Lithuania, on October 1 and 2, 2025. Organised in partnership with the Department of Agriculture at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), the event shares the program with the Rural Development international scientific conference.

The AgroServ project (of which VMU is a consortium partner), will also be present at the Rural Development event with a keynote speech by its coordinator Michel Böer, on sustainable agrifood systems. The project will also curate the second day’s scientific sessions on Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Technologies, and conclude the conference with its General Assembly.

Info: https://agroserv.eu/blog/ersac-2025

High-Level Meeting on Energy Transition and Climate Sustainability

ENERGYTRAN High-Level Meeting

San José, Costa Rica

On September 18th, 2025, LifeWatch ERIC will participate in the High-Level Meeting on Energy Transition and Climate Sustainability, hosted at the Consejo Nacional de Rectores (CONARE). International experts will be presenting the preliminary results of the ENERGYTRAN project, which seeks to foster collaboration between Europe and Latin America to address shared challenges in the fields of energy transition and climate action.

The meeting will gather a wide range of high-level participants, including representatives of international cooperation organizations, national institutions, and academia, strengthening dialogue between Europe and Latin America on the pressing issues of climate sustainability and energy transition. Among the confirmed institutions are: Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI); Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnología (CeNAT); Fundación CRUSA; Costa Rica por Siempre; German Cooperation (GIZ); Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE); Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC); Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica; Tecnológico Nacional de México (TecNM); Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE),.

The programme will cover a diverse set of themes, from international cooperation in energy transition and sustainability, to the role of public institutions and academia, concluding with the presentation of initial results of ENERGYTRAN. Maite Irazabal will represent LifeWatch ERIC, showcasing the preliminary results of the project.

The event will be live-streamed on Facebook through the following link: https://www.facebook.com/centro.nacional.de.alta.tecnologia

For more information about the ENERGYTRAN project, please visit the official website: https://energytran.oei.int/

RESTORE4Cs trainings for scientists and policy makers

RESTORE4CS trainings

Malaga, Spain

Join the RESTORE4Cs Autumn Series of trainings for scientists and policy makers in November 2025!

The trainings will take place in Malaga (Spain), from 3 to 6 November, and they will focus on the main project output: a digital Decision Support System (DSS) that will provide stakeholders and wetland practitioners at all levels with more reliable estimation of cost and benefits in order to drive and prioritise wetlands restoration actions.

RESTORE4Cs Autumn School 2025 for the Scientific Community: November 3-6, 20 participants
RESTORE4Cs Training for Policy Makers: November 5-6, 10-15 participants
For more and upcoming details on the detailed programme, travel conditions and applications, follow up on the RESTORE4Cs website: https://www.restore4cs.eu/restore4cs-autumn-series-2025-save-the-date

LifeWatch ERIC at EUROSOIL 2025

Eurosoil

Seville, Spain – VII EUROSOIL 2025

EUROSOIL is the official meeting of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS): a great opportunity for knowledge transfer in the Soil Sciences community, and one of Europe’s most important international conferences on soil sciences and sustainable land management.

Every four years the meeting gathers a large audience to share their scientific and technical findings through presentations, workshops, and products or services exhibitions. The objective: raising awareness in society, encouraging communication by facilitating the exchange of ideas and information, and creating business opportunities.

The VII EUROSOIL 2025 edition takes place in parallel with the Iberian Congress of Soil Sciences (CICS), from 8 to 12 September 2025 at the FIBES Seville Congress Palace (Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos), spanning a wide range of topics relevant for society, academia, and industry.

Xavier Rotllan-Puig will represent LifeWatch ERIC with the oral presentation: “Empowering Soil Research through Virtual Research Environments: LifeWatch ERIC Services under the AgroServ and SUS-SOIL Projects”. The talk will demonstrate how LifeWatch ERIC services are advancing soil research, education, and policy across Europe, within the framework of the SUS-SOIL project. It will also present services developed under the AGROSERV project, in collaboration with UTAD (Portugal) and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

Learn more about the event here: https://eurosoil2025.eu/EUROSOIL2025

7th International Conference on Fish Telemetry

International Conference on Fish Telemetry

Traverse City, USA

The 7th ICFT (International Conference on Fish Telemetry 2025), will be hosted by the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS) and will be held in Traverse City (Michigan) from June 8 to 13.

The conference brings together research professionals and industry experts to discuss advancements in technology, novel methods, and research results used to advance our understanding of fish behaviour and ecology. This year’s theme is: “unraveling the mysteries of fish to inform management and conservation decisions”.

The European Tracking Network (ETN) – a service powered by LifeWatch Belgium, is among the conference sponsors: its mission is to track aquatic animals across Europe to better understand, protect and manage them.

Learn more about the event: https://event.fourwaves.com/7thicft/pages

AGROECOLOGY Partnership Event

Agroecology Partnership event

Seville, Spain

From 31 March to 2 April 2025, the city of Seville, Spain, hosts the AGROECOLOGY Partnership event, a key gathering that brings together leading actors from across Europe to advance the transition towards sustainable agroecological systems.

Organised by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), with collaboration from LifeWatch ERIC and the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development of Andalusia, this event is framed within the European Partnership on Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures.

Over three days, participants will engage in a dynamic programme of activities, including:

  • The 7th in-person Executive Team Meeting
  • The first physical meeting of the Science and Stakeholder Advisory Board (SciSAB)
  • An Alignment Workshop with sister initiatives
  • A technical visit to IFAPA, the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training

These sessions will address the current state of play, explore synergies with related initiatives, and identify future strategic actions for the 2025–2027 period. Topics include science-policy interactions, co-creation of knowledge, sustainable production systems, and the use of data platforms to support agroecological transformation.

LifeWatch ERIC, will actively participate in the event through its ICT Core team, Agroecology Coordinator Dr José Manuel Ávila Castuera, and Senior Scientific Manager Dr Iria Soto Embodas. will participate actively in the event. The infrastructure will contribute its expertise in biodiversity and ecosystem research to support the development of integrated, innovative, and sustainable solutions for agriculture in Europe.

This high-level event represents an important opportunity to align agendas, strengthen collaboration, and foster impactful contributions to Europe’s agroecological transition.

Bridging Disciplines: Advancing Research Data Management for Collaborative Innovation

Bridging Disciplines

Bucharest, Romania

The international conference “Bridging Disciplines” takes place on 20 and 21 March at the InterContinental AthéNéE Palace Hotel, in Bucharest.

The objective of the conference is to bring together thought leaders from multiple domains, to discuss the role of metadata, data stewardship, and cross-domain integration for the improvement of data management, sharing and re-use.

Christos Arvanitidis, LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO and Research Director at the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology, and Aquaculture (IMBBC) of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), chairs the session on Life Sciences, on 20 March at 15:45.

The session focusses on collaborative interfaces between Scientific Domains and Disciplines: it explores data interoperability in the life sciences and environmental research, highlighting strategies for integrating diverse datasets to address global challenges.

UEFISCDI organised the conference, funded under the EEA and Norway Grants and co-organised by the Romanian Social Data Archive, with the partnership of LifeWatch ERIC and several other Research Infrastructures.

For more information visit: https://bridge.uefiscdi.ro/