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PlanACT! Is a new plant scientific initiative that aims to identify key research action areas to find immediate, mid-term, and long-term solutions for Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have created a global climate crisis which requires immediate interventions to mitigate its negative effects on all aspects of life on this planet. Current agriculture and land use contributes up to 25% of total GHG emissions. A group of plant scientists from key research institutions in plant biology and agriculture have taken the lead with a scientific initiative ‘Plants for Climate action’ (acronym PlantACT!) in finding possible solutions for a transition to sustainable agriculture and land use.
On June 2022 that group of scientists participated in the EMBO Workshop "Molecular Responses of Plants Facing Climate Change" in France, to discuss about their potential contribution to face this challenge. At that workshop, the group proposed to accelerate funding plant-based solutions for the climate crisis. The group consisting of scientists at all career stages and key research institutions within Europe and abroad, met for a kick-off meeting with delegates of the Templeton Foundation and the German National Science Foundation DFG in Versailles (France) from 14-16 November. The result of that meeting where scientists proposed possible solutions is an online manuscript, published in Trends In plant Science (Hirt et al., 2022, link).
The Centre for Biotechnology and Plant Genomics (CBPG) is a mixed research centre between the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the National Institute of Agricultural Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC). CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC) is one of the Spanish research centers participating in this initiative, that is in line with the objectives of the strategic plan of the CBGP Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence program.
White paper in Trends in Plant Science: Hirt et al,
PlantACT! Web page: https://www.plant-act.org
About CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC)
The mission of the CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC) is to carry out fundamental and strategic research within the field of plant biology and microorganisms that interact with plants. The research carried out by the different groups of the Centre is aimed at understanding, from a multidisciplinary point of view, essential processes such as the development of plants, their interaction with the environment and the molecular mechanisms that regulate plant nutrition. Likewise, the CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC) develops new tools for computational biology and genomics to achieve these objectives. The acquisition of basic biological knowledge is essential to combat the challenges facing agricultural and forestry production and should contribute to the development of new biotechnological solutions. The CBGP (UPM-INIA/CSIC) also plays a relevant role as an educational institution, being a reference centre for the training of young scientists and Master's and Degree students in the areas of Plant Biotechnology and Genomics.