"Chemistry for a Better Life" STOA workshop

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On the 9th of November, the Science and Technology Options Assessment group of the European Parliament (STOA), in conjunction with EuCheMS and CEFIC, organised a workshop entitled “Chemistry for a Better Life” to highlight the crucial contribution of chemistry to improving the quality of life for mankind.
The workshop was hosted by Ms Teresa Riera Madurell (MEP) and opened with a keynote speech from Professor Avelino Corma from the Instituto de Technología Química in Valencia. His talk highlighted the synergistic relationship between academia research and industry; specifically the ability of knowledge driven research to solve real problems.
This beneficial relationship was underlined as a necessary goal for chemists also by Professor Ulrich Schubert, EuCheMS President, who presented the EuCheMS roadmap for chemical sciences, part of it was then further discussed during the first panel, chaired by Dr Dieter Jahn, BASF, “Innovation Union: Chemistry, Technologies and Horizon 2020”. The second panel discussion, “Chemistry for Resource Efficiency”, was led by Dr Nicola Armaroli from CNR in Bologna and has highlighted the energy use in Europe and the possibilities for moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, while the third session, chaired by Richard Allen, Scottish Water Horizons addressed issues related to chemistry for smart living.
As the International Year of Chemistry draws to a close, this workshop was a means for chemists across Europe to better explain the importance of chemistry as a subject to the policy makers, not just as a science to combat disease and global warming, but also as an industry that can fuel a continent.
Further information on the conclusions of the workshop will be available in the proceedings of the workshop.

 

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