Next 19 and 20 November the IRENES Integrating RENewable energy and Ecosystem Services project in environmental and energy policies officially starts in Venice. IRENES is funded by the Interreg EUROPE Programme and puts in place interregional knowledge and experience exchange process to identify gaps and barriers within current ERDF and energy policy instruments in relation to the renewable energies and ecosystem services co-relation, including environmental, social, economic, and governance concerns.

Veneto Innovazione participates in the project with the lead partner Iuav University of Venice. They will work together to modify the Regional Operational Program (ROP - ERDF) both in the current programming 2014-20, and in the future programming 2021-27, for a more sustainable planning.

Tuesday 19 November the kickoff meeting will host the project partners from the Hanover region (Germany), Estonia, Romania, and East Anglia (Great Britain). Regional institutional actors will join them to analyze the 2014-2020 ROP ERDF programming of the Veneto Region considering the Regional planning about landscape and sustainability and the climate-environment integrated actions in the Regional Rural Development Program. The discussion will also focus on the experience of the Regional Innovation Networks towards integrated projects.

In the afternoon partners will learn and discuss case studies of innovation in research on ecosystem services, renewable energies and environmental impacts.

The event will end on November 20th morning with the summary and a critical study of strengths and weaknesses of the situation presented the previous day. Partners will outline a series of recommendations to be developed in the regional structural funds. The discussion will also draw the line of the next IRENES activities.