Academic report, by a Commission or a Working Group

01 Mai MEGATRENDS – The forces likely to shape work, employment and society in Ireland to 2040 and beyond

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2023
Megatrends, Download file Voltaire said the present is pregnant with the future and this is surely true of the intersecting forces, plans and events or “trends” that will shape Ireland’s society and economy over the medium term (2040 plus). The likely effects of some of these trends are already evident and others still have to reveal themselves more fully. In addition to the trends factors such as our current base of employment, existing national and sectoral plans as well as natural aspirations for a better society will all likely have a bearing on the shape of the future Ireland... . Executive Summary 1. Context
  • 1.1 Introduction
  • 1.2 Ireland’s Current Business Model
  • 1.3 Are We Over or Under-Educated?
  • 1.4 Irish Government Macro-Planning
  • 1.5 Global Megatrends
2. Exploring the MegaTrends
  • 2.1 Decarbonisation and Climate Change
  • 2.2 New Technology
  • 2.3 The Fourth Industrial Revolution - Industry 4.0
  • 2.4 The Circular Economy
  • 2.5 Remote Working
3. Conclusions and Recommendations.
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01 Déc Generation Equation

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
What motivates young people to want to learn? What kind of knowledge creates meaning - both for the individual and for building a sustainable and democratic society? With Generation Equation we aim to investigate Swedish students' attitudes towards knowledge and learning, with a particular focus on science, mathematics and reading. Generation Equation is produced by IVA's Future Knowledge Society project, whose vision is a society where knowledge empowers people to build a better world for all. The report is based on both international and Swedish studies. It is divided into three main chapters: how enjoyable or interesting young people perceive learning to be; how they perceive their own abilities and situation, for example in relation to self-confidence and stress; and how they see the benefits of what they learn for the future. IVA concludes by identifying several themes and challenges where IVA finds a need for future discussion. One example is whether a broader perspective on possible educational and career paths for young people can be mobilised, in the light of society's major common challenges and rapid developments. The report is available in Swedish.
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01 Déc Agenda for sustainable water supply

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
Access to clean water is a challenge for sustainable development in Sweden as well as globally. IVA's Sustainable Water Supply project addresses the following issues related to water supply of freshwater in Sweden - climate change, water supply in urban environments, water cycles and water management. Ten areas where challenges to the common water resource exist in Sweden today are identified, including the lack of time perspective in planning, and managing water issues. Several keys to more effective water management and water supply follow, including the need for collaboration and synchronisation between more stakeholders going forward. IVA concludes with ten policy proposals on what should be done in Sweden to meet current and future water challenges, including developing knowledge and models on how climate change affects water resources, giving river basins a central role in planning, and initiating Water Plan 2045, a national long-term strategy for water resource management. The proposals are presented in a ten-point agenda - the Agenda for Sustainable Water Supply. The report is available in Swedish.
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23 Avr From system-level to investment-level Sustainability. An epistemological one-way street

A report of the Royal Academy of Belgium
2021
Authors: Max Krahé. Main themes: public investment in private enterprises, advancing socially and environmentally sustainable development.  
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23 Avr Du partage de la connaissance et de la promotion d’une « science ouverte » / On sharing knowledge and fostering « open science »

A report of the Royal Academy of Belgium / Un rapport de l'Académie royale de Belgique
2020
Authors: Document stemming from the work undertaken by the “Dissemination of Science” Group of the Royal Academy of Belgium, headed by Erol Gelenbe and comprising Guy Brasseur, Luc Chefneux, Véronique Dehant, Véronique Halloin, Jean-Paul Haton, Michel Judkiewicz, Bernard Rentier and Romain Weikmans. Main themes: dissemination of knowledge in the context of reducing the climate footprint.
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07 Avr Significant Gas Fired Generation Required During Transition To Zero Carbon

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2021
National Energy and Climate Plan, Download file The Irish Government has adopted a challenging target of having 70% of the country’s electricity produced from renewable sources (mainly wind and solar) by 2030. In its newly published report, ‘The Challenge of High Levels of Renewable Electricity in Ireland’s Electricity System’ The Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE), seeks to identify the risks in the transition to renewable electricity and recommend prudent actions by policy makers. There is broad agreement that long term decarbonisation of the planet’s energy systems requires a major shift to electricity as an energy vector. Ireland is planning to have nine hundred thousand electric vehicles on the road by 2030 as well as six hundred thousand heat pumps. Don Moore says “In this context, a failure of the power system would have a catastrophic effect on normal economic life. In order to maintain necessary reliability standards while replacing coal, oil and peat generation, Ireland will require significant gas fired generation for the next two decades.” Gas consumption will reduce as generating units will operate with lower load factors, but peak gas demand for power generation will be significantly more than today. Don Moore states that “Power system reliability is therefore critically dependent on secure primary energy supplies (natural gas) to the Island of Ireland”. By 2030, the island of Ireland will be almost totally dependent on Great Britain (GB) for its gas supply. GB in turn will import up to 75% of its gas due to declining North Sea production. In the Academy’s view, developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Ireland is highly advisable to ensure secure, diverse and cost-effective gas supplies. There are several major LNG exporting counties, such as Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, and Russia which have enormous gas reserves, and Don Moore says “ Ireland is one of the very few maritime countries in Europe which does not have an LNG import facility”. The global LNG market is now extremely competitive with over 20 exporting countries and more than 40 importing countries. Alternatives to gas fired generation to support 70% renewable electricity have been proposed, these include: • Pumped Hydro Storage • Compressed Air Storage • Battery Storage • Carbon Capture and Storage • Increased Interconnection • Hydrogen Fuel Options • Biofuels • Marine Energy (Wave/Tidal) • Nuclear Power The Academy’s considered conclusion is that none of these options can be implemented on a scale that would significantly reduce Ireland’s gas fired generation by 2030.
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03 Mar Innovation in the food industries: impacts of the digital revolution

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
March 2021
The authors: Alain Michel Boudet, Pierre Feillet The appropriation of digital technologies, artificial intelligence and data-driven learning for more effectively designing, manufacturing, controlling and distributing food that meets consumer demands and respects environmental constraints – for the food industries this is a necessity and a great ambition that the public authorities must actively support.  
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01 Jan Skills shortage threatens Sweden’s competitiveness

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
Sweden is a country with many global and world-leading companies. Staying at the forefront of an accelerating green and digital transformation requires a strong commitment to research and development. With the R&D Barometer IVA is for the third consecutive year investigating what the Swedish research and development climate is like. The barometer is based on a questionnaire answered by 100 R&D managers in Swedish industry, ten of whom were interviewed in depth. Together, the companies in the survey have around 56,000 R&D employees, which corresponds to 74% of all R&D employees in Swedish industry.In summary, IVA's R&D Barometer 2021 shows that the Swedish R&D climate is good, but that it has gradually deteriorated since previous years' surveys. The business community continues to find that shortages of skill are the biggest threats to Swedish companies' R&D, while having employees with the right skill set is considered the most important factor for success. To strengthen the Swedish R&D climate, many executives see that the ability to recruit from abroad needs to be improved, and that tax policies should be adapted to attract foreign experts to come and stay in Sweden. In addition, cooperation between companies and universities needs to be strengthened. The report is available in Swedish.
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05 Oct Understanding COVID-19. Report of the COVID-19 Advisory Team at the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN)
2020

A report delivered by a team of scientists, working under the supervision of Prof. Jerzy Duszyński, president of the Academy, presents the current state of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19 disease and its medical, psychological, economic and social impacts. In an accessible manner, this document provides forecasts of the COVID-19 epidemic for the upcoming winter season and recommendations for citizens and institutions. The publication includes information about the course of the disease and treatment, phases of pandemic development and its implications for human health. The study provides verified information on prevention and presents current works on coronavirus vaccines. Among other topics covered are preparations for a winter COVID-19 peak, including the opening of educational institutions, and the risk of co-infection.

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01 Oct The Future of Electricity Transmission in Ireland

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2020
The Irish Government has published the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP 2021–2030) which sets out targets for reducing Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over the next decade. The plan aims to increase the penetration of renewable electricity generation to 70% by 2030 by incentivising the construction of up to 9.2GW of new renewable energy projects. This amounts to approximately 80% of all current generation capacity in the country. This paper is the first of a series to be produced by the Irish Academy of Engineering examining various hurdles that must be overcome if such a transition is to be successfully accomplished over the next decade. These hurdles include among others: • Large scale investment in new transmission capacity in order to efficiently connect the new generation to the existing transmission system (National Grid). • Measures to ensure short-term system stability given the likely connection of large amounts of non-synchronous generation. • Measures to manage the intermittency inherent in new renewable technologies. • Electrical interconnection to other jurisdictions and the market issues associated with the potential large-scale import and export of electricity. In this paper the IAE focuses on the first item on the above list and seeks to set out the issues – initially from a European perspective. The Academy has raised ten questions in the final summary which it believes require urgent consideration if the NECP targets are to be achieved. Principal among these is the social acceptability of transmission investment among the community at large. Based on European experience, the Academy suggests that the Government must take direct ownership of this issue.  
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