AV21 Strategy
The mission of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) is top research focused on problems and challenges of contemporary society. Topics such as the energetic future of the Czech Republic, the health of its citizens, artificial intelligence, or quality of public policies present complex areas of problems whose solution requires wide interdisciplinary research, both basic and applied.
The strategy AV21 of the Czech Academy of Sciences responds to current social challenges through a sophisticated formulation of research programmes, based on cooperation of scientific fields and institutions. The basic programme framework of Strategy AV21 was accepted by the Academy Assembly in December 2014. The research programmes of the CAS are open to partners from universities, corporations, and institutions of regional administration, as well as foreign research groups and organisations. The research programmes are proposed and formulated in the discussion of the leadership of the CAS with directors of the institutes with regard to trends in global science, the social relevance of the research, and National Priorities of Oriented Research.
Mankind has always been shaped by the availability of energy in its various forms. Energy is so vital to us that without reliable and sufficient energy supplies we will lose many modern civilization benefits that we consider inherent. The annual worldwide energy consumption is about 580 mil. TJ. The largest part of the energy is consumed by industry and transport.
The main source of energy is still fossil fuels with about 83% of the total energy production. The share of renewable energy increases, however, it is still only around 15%. With increasing energy consumption the situation is unsustainable. Fossil fuel sources are limited and emissions arising from combustion may have a fatal impact on our planet in the foreseeable future. Thus, new factors are entering the game and we can expect a major transition from the energy sector to sustainability in the next decades. The legislative framework for this transition is determined by the FIT FOR 55 package of the European Green Deal – the EU’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2050.
Production, transport, storage, and use of energy is a complex system whose understanding requires knowledge of many disciplines. The ongoing changes may have considerable socio-economic impacts stemming from risks of instability and unavailability of energy supply, high energy prices, or threats to international political cohesion. The proposed program combines the knowledge of the CAS institutes and external partners in natural, technical, and social sciences to address interdisciplinary research challenges and to study the impact of the upcoming transition on society.
The program covers key areas associated with the transition to sustainable energy systems. Renewable and nuclear power sources offer low-emission solutions to primary energy needs. New solutions for thermonuclear fusion are necessary and we must ensure the safety of existing nuclear power plants with fission reactors. The intermittency of energy production from renewables and the ongoing decentralization of production create demand for energy storage to an unprecedented extent. Hydrogen can play a significant role as it is considered a major future source of energy for transportation. The effect of energy utilization of fuels on the environment must be minimized. Progress in these areas requires support and acceptance by the public. Therefore, the program aims to popularization of the topics and dissemination of the results in the education sector.
The Institute is involved in the following specific sub-topics:
- Energy storage
- Circular economy in energy
- Renewable energy sources and decentralized energy
- Hydrogen technologies
Web pages of the program Sustainable Energy
Department involved in research
Ensuring sustainable, quality and healthy nutrition for humanity is one of the major challenges of our time. Growing global population, climate change, intensive and unsustainable farming and overall environmental degradation are reducing soil quality and crop yields. New, highly productive, resistant and nutritionally rich varieties will need to be bred. Current industrial methods of harvesting, processing and distribution contaminate food with a wide range of chemicals and are becoming hazardous to human health. Diet is not just a source of nutrients, but affects almost all human life functions. Epidemics of civilizational diseases caused by poor nutrition can significantly weaken society and overburden the health and social system. It is also a sad paradox that food is wasted and one third is thrown away. In the face of climate change and limited resources, it is also necessary to look more closely at the ethical issues of food production and consumption.
The main objective of the research programme is to bring together CAS institutes, universities and businesses in a wide range of areas, from food production and consumption to downstream social and health impacts. The programme has significant application potential, using the existing infrastructure of application laboratories to address new topical issues and challenges. Advice to the professional and lay public, the provision of expertise and advice, and collaboration with government, politicians, the media and professional organisations are integral parts of the programme.
The research programme refines long-term scenarios and short-term forecasts of climate change impacts on agriculture and communicates them to the public. It explores new ways of increasing soil organic matter. It also focuses on analysing the soil microbiome and understanding the environmental conditions that affect it. It develops and applies molecular genetic sequencing and editing methods to enhance the performance and resilience of crops and microorganisms. Program investigates the molecular mechanisms of biotic and abiotic stresses on plants to breed more resistant crops. It develops new methods of phenotyping photosynthetic organisms to accelerate and automate the selection of plants and microorganisms with desired traits. The research focuses on the impact of food on the gut microbiome, immune response, and overall human health. It also deals with contamination of food, especially fish, with organic pollutants and microplastics. At the societal level, it investigates the role of subsistence farming for sustainable food production, food waste and ethical food consumption.
The Institute is involved in the following specific sub-topics:
- Healthy and Sustainable Soil
Web pages of the program Sustainable Food Production and Consumption
Department involved in research
The proposed programme will create a synergy between all research areas (I.–III.) to enhance the quality of interdisciplinary research and transfer of knowledge. It will focus on the neglected research on the basic unit of civilisation – the household. In every era, households have been the epicentres of development (Household-hub), where interactions and reproduction of individuals and groups have been concentrated, i.e. biological reproduction, transmission of knowledge and behavioural patterns. As centres of consumption, households have contributed significantly to the production of GDP and to the technological progress of humanity. The constant drive to improve private life is enormous. This is why smart homes and the Internet of Things are on the agenda, as they create intelligent approaches and security risks. The methodological directions of the research topics follow:
- The interactions with the surrounding ecosystems, as households are key actors in the Anthropocene in a network of multiple relationships (including food);
- The development of bio/technologies, the processing of natural resources, i.e. the use of organic and inorganic materials, which have been the basis of food and security provision in different types of households in the past;
- The need for investments, finance, time and energy;
- The intervention in the landscape, its cultivation and destruction, to meet human and social needs;
- The space of social, economic and legal communication, since households are the basic units of social life.
The research is not confined to a specific time framework; it aims to monitor the past and the present, including current societal issues and national research priorities. The research responds in a targeted way to complex technological, social, environmental and economic challenges, in line with the National Research and Innovation Strategy RIS3. The synergy of such research, interconnecting engineering disciplines, natural sciences and humanities, will contribute to solving current challenges and risks: a) civilisation versus AI and environmental protection b) regional problems, in particular excluded localities, education, housing c) at national level, in particular scienceindustry cooperation, social and health policy, school models or student involvement, d) at international level, in particular support of international projects, scientific networking, interdisciplinary teams.
The Institute is involved in the following specific sub-topics:
- Households, raw materials, landscape
- Households and ecological burdens
Web pages of the program Epicentres of Civilization