On 27 June 2018, we published our latest report on the role of international institutions and organisations on the decarbonization of key emission sectors produced for the Horizon 2020 project “COP21: Results and Implications for Pathways and Policies for Low Emissions European Societies (COP21 RIPPLES)”. The report, authored by IES experts Prof. Sebastian Oberthür, Tomas Wyns and Gauri Khandekar, provides a basis for identifying the challenges, barriers and opportunities that international climate governance faces from a sectoral system perspective, and thereby enables a more targeted approach to addressing the international decarbonisation challenge.

On 6 September 2018, Serena D’Agostino defended her PhD thesis entitled “Romani Women in European Politics. Exploring Multi-Layered Political Spaces for Intersectional Policies and Mobilizations”. Her promoters were Prof. Dr. Ilke Adam and Prof. Dr. Karen Celis. The Institute for European Studies would like to congratulate Dr Serena D’Agostino for successfully defending her PhD thesis.

On 26 September, IES Executive Director Anthony Antoine delivered a keynote speech on "the salient role of the universities in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda and the particular importance of societal impact of multidisciplinary research in developing sustainable and global solutions" at the Helsinki Challenge Global Impact Camp in Brussels. The Global Impact Camp in Brussels was a two-day intensive co-creation session focusing on societal impact of research, funding and collaboration with international experts and EU decision-makers. 

From 27 – 31 August the Institute for European Studies was represented by doctoral researcher Maaike Verbruggen at the Second Session of the Group of Governmental Experts of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons on Lethal Autonomous Weapons System at the United Nations in Geneva.Maaike Verbruggen attended the meeting in the context of her doctoral research on Military Innovation in Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence.

The IES is proud to announce the launch of a new report by researchers Matilda Axelson (lead author), Isobel Robson, Gauri Khandekar and Tomas Wyns (Project coordinator): 'Breaking Through – Industrial Low-CO2 Technologies on the Horizon’. This report assesses the latest state of play of 70 low-CO2 process technologies currently under development in Europe for the Iron and Steel, Chemicals, Cement and Concrete, Pulp and Paper, and Ceramics industries. It provides a snapshot of the current situation by assessing current industrial process innovations based on their CO2-emission reduction potential, energy demand, costs and technological readiness. 

IES Academic Director Luk Van Langenhove has been appointed by the Board of Directors of the VUB as Assignment Holder for International Institutes and Networking. In this new role, he will be responsible for the coordination of the already existing international institutes of the VUB and the VUB participation in International Networks, answering to the request of French president Macron to form a “European University Network”.