Sustainable Development Goals
EuroGeoSurveys delivers Geoscience for Society. While our members – The Geological Surveys of Europe – are as diverse as the geoscience they work on, they have a common drive to deliver the harmonised pan-European geoscience data and expertise needed to make sound, EU-level social, environmental, and economic decisions for a sustainable future.
When it comes to European geoscience, only the combined Geological Surveys of Europe have the data, the expertise, and the strong collaborative network that can achieve this.
What are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
In 2015, the United Nations outlined 17 goals for implementation in all member states to act as a roadmap for the present and future welfare of the planet and every person on it.
We believe our strongest contributions relate to the following goals :
The work of EuroGeoSurveys encompasses various aspects of the Earth and the Earth’s processes, which often have interlinking behaviour with human health and wellbeing. Such behaviour takes place in many different forms. For example, the remotely gathered data of the Earth Observation-Geohazards Expert Group delivers the geohazard information needed to support safe management and assessment and ensure societal wellbeing. The Urban Geology Expert Group also provides information that ensures cities and inhabitants are resilient to geohazards. The chemical knowledge gleaned by the Geochemistry experts ensures safe interaction between humans and their environment, to avoid toxic chemical effects, while the Water Resources Expert Group delivers policy expertise for the sustainable use of water and the availability of clean water to European society.
EuroGeoSurveys works to provide accessible data and learning opportunities for geoscientific education. This includes delivering accessible and pan-European geological data in various geological fields through the expert groups and projects. The PanAfGeo project, now in phase two, provides training to the staff of the geological surveys of Africa to enhance technical and scientific competencies, while the Intermin project developed training programmes and an online educational platform for the use of raw material professionals. The Geoheritage Expert Group has an educational purpose at its heart, working to promote the sustainable management of geosites provide accessible geoscientific education and the safeguarding of areas of scientific importance.
The sustainable management of groundwater resources is key for the continued and accessible use of clean water. The Water Resources Expert Group provides the hydrogeological expertise needed to support decision making on sustainable groundwater resources at national and European level.
Geoscience plays a key role in the energy sector. It delivers mineral raw materials for energy production technology and infrastructure, provides expertise for marine-related renewable energy and supplies knowledge of geostorage and geothermal energy techniques. The Mineral Resource, Marine Geology, and GeoEnergy Expert Groups all contribute data and expertise to support sustainable energy production.
Earth’s raw materials are found within almost everything we use on a daily basis, and a consistent and sustainable supply is needed to support resilient supply chains and a sustainable future. The Mineral Resource Expert Group and numerous EuroGeoSurveys projects continue to provide the knowledge and skills to support a secure raw materials supply chain.
Many of the EuroGeoSurveys projects and Expert Groups work towards providing the expertise needed to support policy making and produce the geoscientific infrastructure, in the form of open-sourced pan-European geological data, for sustainable advancements in economic, social and environmental wellbeing. The EuroGeoSurveys EGDI project was established to provide access to European and national datasets in numerous geological fields including marine geology, mineral resources, geohazards, energy and soil. The Geological Service for Europe project will further build on this framework by providing the expertise for the active application of the data. The Spatial Information Expert Group works to connect EGDI to other pan-European data platforms for a more harmonised European database, while other Expert Groups provide geological data and expertise.
Scientific knowledge and information are needed to successfully adapt cities to climatic changes and to develop cities in a sustainable way. The Urban Geology Expert Group provides the geological knowledge needed to ensure sustainable, resilient and secure cities.
Geology is intrinsically linked with human consumption and production, as the earth provides the natural resources needed for society. EuroGeoSurveys provides expertise in raw material use through the Mineral Resource Expert Group and projects such as SCRREEN, AfricaMaVal and the EU-Latin America Partnership on Raw Materials. Further knowledge on the sustainable use of natural resources is also provided by expert groups such as the Water Resources, Marine Geology, and GeoEnergy Expert Groups, while the Geochemistry Expert Group provides baseline geochemical environmental data to monitor the chemical environmental impacts that can arise through consumption and production.
EuroGeoSurveys supports positive climate actions to ensure a secure environmental and societal future. EuroGeoSurveys projects and expert groups are key in realising this ambition. The GeoEnergy Expert Group provides science needed for a green energy transition; the Water Resources Expert Group provides expert knowledge for sustainable water resource management; the Urban Geology Expert Group provides scientific support for resilient cities against climate-induced hazards; the Mineral Resource Expert Group provides knowledge on resilient mineral supply chains to support the growing need for mineral resources to support a green transition, the Earth Observation-Geohazard Expert Group provides knowledge on the changes of the Earth’s surface due to climatic shifts and the Marine Geology Expert Group provides knowledge to support sustainable marine-related human activities including offshore wind farms.
The ocean and marine resources must be sustainably managed, conserved and developed for sustainable growth, increasing societal needs and environmental wellbeing. The Marine Geology Expert Group provides marine geological data and expertise to support sound commercial and political decision-making for the sustainable development of marine resources. The Marine Geology Expert Group is integrally involved in the European Commission-led EMODnet project, which delivers an accessible platform for European marine data, with the aim of supporting blue growth.
Geoscience can provide the data needed to support the sustainable management and the wellbeing of terrestrial ecosystems. The Geochemistry, Water Resources, and Earth Observation-Geohazards Expert Groups provide data on the state of European environments, which allow monitoring and support of the sustainable management of terrestrial environments.
Collaboration is at the heart of everything that EuroGeoSurveys achieves. Through sharing ideas and resources, the impact of geoscientific research and knowledge can be furthered and advanced towards a secure and sustainable future. Integral to EuroGeoSurveys projects and expert groups are our many international partnerships. Developed from both within and beyond Europe. The EuroGeoSurveys International Cooperation and Development Task Force works to increase cooperation between different organisations and institutions across the world, to share resources and ideas to advance together in the field of geology. For example, international projects which cross European borders include PanAfGeo and AfricaMaVal based in Africa, and the EU-Latin America Partnership on Raw Materials, which brings EU and Latin American scientists together in cooperation. European-based collaborations are explored through the SCRREEN 2, e-shape and RASTOOL and many other prior projects, as well as through the EuroGeoSurveys expert groups.