Internship Tasks:
1. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND EU FUNDING INTERNSHIP
Background:
The EU’s transition to climate neutrality committed to the European Green Deal (EGD) will require a major change in public funding and incentives. Most National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) are already adopted by now and the Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes are under discussion. However, as has been experienced in the past, these documents in themselves do not always guarantee the best use of EU money for the environment and climate.
The aim of the Towards a Climate Neutral EU project is to contribute to supporting the efficient use of EU money in the participating countries, highlight best practices and lessons learnt, and widely disseminate these observations both nationally and internationally. Thus, the project will help to improve the level and quality of EU funding and fiscal policy for EU climate action and EGD delivery by focusing on game-changing actions at the national level. At the same time, it will provide valuable inputs for the efficient use of EU funds regarding climate protection also on the EU level.
One of the project’s biggest pillars is creating the Best Practice Database. This database intends to be a collection of best practices and avoidable mistakes related to EU funding. Any interested citizen or organization can submit best practices or examples with lessons learnt after a simple registration.
The main expected internship tasks are:
● Policy research to fill in the Best Practice Database, assess the submitted practices and prepare its final assessment.
● Assist in project coordination (e.g. participation in the meetings with project partners, organising educational workshops).
● Advocacy (drafting letters to decision-makers, participation in workshops and conferences).
● Assist in the organisation of project-related events.
What we offer:
● Opportunity to learn about EU legislation in an ongoing project.
● Gain experience and knowledge on topics related to the EU budget, such as the Cohesion Fund, Multiannual Financial Framework, Recovery and Resilience Facility, Fit For 55 Package, etc.
● Being involved in discussions with representatives of the European Commission, Members of the EU Parliament, and GREEN10.
● Developing communicational and organizational skills.
Requirements:
● Ongoing or finished studies in Environmental Law, International Relations, or related fields.
● Interest in EU environmental legislation.
● Basic knowledge of the EU’s main institutions (i.e., EU Commission, EU Parliament, and EU Council) and their functions.
● Responsibility and strong motivation; being ready to learn.
● Fluent in English (both oral and written). Knowledge of Hungarian would be an asset.
2. PEATLAND POLICY INTERNSHIP
Background:
The Building the European Peatlands Initiative: a strong alliance for peatland climate protection in Europe project, funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), aims to enhance climate mitigation and reduction of GHG emissions through improved pan-European collaboration for the conservation and restoration of peatlands, sustainable agricultural use of peatlands and the regeneration of healthy soils. The Peatland Policy Intern will have the opportunity to support these objectives by contributing to diverse activities to raise awareness, build capacities and provide recommendations to improve future peatland policies.
About the Internship:
As peatlands are increasingly threatened globally, as well as in Europe, by unsustainable land use, the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, urgent action is needed to address these damaging trends and introduce supportive policies and actions instead. Peatlands, as massive carbon sinks, can potentially play a significant role in climate change mitigation. However, when drained and unsustainably managed, they become sources of GHG emissions.
National peatland policies in Europe are heterogenic: while countries such as Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are already implementing their national strategies, others still need to start. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a low level of public awareness of peatlands is a key problem, and hence the climate services they provide are undervalued. Recently, peatlands have become more important in EU policy instruments: the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, Adaptation Strategy, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Fit for 55 package and the proposed Nature Restoration Law. EU policies eventually need to be implemented on a national scale, CEEweb aims to support this process as part of a small international consortium.
Proposed activities under this work area include:
● Contributing to the critical assessment of peatland policies on different governance levels.
● Identifying strengths, weaknesses and best practices (inside and outside of Europe) in policies for the sustainable management of peatlands.
● Conducting research and contributing to science-based papers and communications campaigns that will eventually support improved peatland policies in Europe.
● Supporting the CEEweb team in the organisation and facilitation of various capacity-building events for multiple stakeholder groups.
● Drafting powerful social media messages and online articles to convey the main findings and recommendations of the project.
3. AGROFORESTRY AND MIXED-FARMING POLICY INTERNSHIP
About the Project:
The aim of the AGROMIX project is to deliver participatory research to drive the transition to resilient and efficient land use in Europe. AGROMIX will provide practical agroecological solutions for farm and land management and related value chains that reduce uncertainties in assessing carbon balance and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in highly complex land use contexts, such as mixed farming (MF) systems (i.e. crops and livestock) and agroforestry (AF) systems (i.e. trees and crops and/or livestock). To maximise impact, AGROMIX will explore the potential for novel approaches and technologies, such as serious games to promote innovation in highly complex, diverse contexts. All relevant stakeholders will be included in the participatory co-design process and implementation of systems.
AGROMIX adopts a transdisciplinary, participatory approach to unlock and develop synergies in MF and AF systems to achieve environmental and socio-economic resilience in the context of climate change. AGROMIX will integrate evidence-based contributions across sciences (from biophysical to social sciences) with a practice-oriented approach, including farmers and other stakeholders, with the aim to achieve greater levels of resilience. This will include consideration of various factors including environment, socio-economics, farm income and supply chain stability. Our approach analyses the provision of ecosystem services (ES) from MF/AF systems. This analysis will be used in the development and implementation of practical solutions for farm and land management to improve ES and reduce the negative effects of ecosystem disservices (e.g. habitat competition, crop loss, poor air quality, loss of income, loss of biodiversity). Agricultural intensification has led to increasing specialisation of farming systems and the simplification of agricultural practices. Increased market concentration has led to simple ‘de-mixed’ systems and the over-exploitation of natural resources, especially where infrastructure and supply chain organisation favours the economies of agglomeration. This has resulted in many livestock units heavily reliant on bought-in feedstuffs and no near outlets for manure, and specialised arable crops dependent on external input that may contribute to soil and water pollution.
The particular internship tasks for 2023 are:
● To provide support to project partners in building up a multi-stakeholder engagement process within a capacity-building program.
● To analyse the new EU requirements on agriculture
● To analyse the countries’ approaches and solutions in their Common Agricultural Policy Strategies and Operational Plans
● To provide road-maps to relevant national policy approaches that support the country representatives in formulating their strategies, processes and outputs, which will embed to the European Commission Agricultural related processes over DG Agri, DG Environment and DG Climate.
General Requirements:
● Bachelor’s degree (completed/ongoing), prefer master students who have experience in particular projects
● Fluency in spoken and written English
● Strong interpersonal and English communicative skills
● Proficiency in MS software (e.g. Word, Excel, Power point)
