At the EGU General Assembly 2026 in Vienna, the NetCDA framework organized the session “ITS4.33/CLO.19: Strengthening African-European Partnerships for Global Change Research: From Scientific Capacity to Practical Solutions” on 4 May 2026. The session was convened by Dr. Insa Otte (EORC) together with co-conveners Dr. Henno Havenga (NWU South Africa), Dr. Layla Hashweh (ICWRGC), Dr. Luiz Bondi (Universität Rostock) and Prof. Dr. Arona Diedhiou (IRD). The session was part of the EGU26 programme, which brought together more than 22,000 participants from 125 countries.
More than 70 participants attended the session and ensured a full house, which focused on strengthening African research capacity in environmental and climate sciences through equitable and sustainable partnerships. Contributions addressed collaboration across the full research cycle, with a strong emphasis on African leadership, knowledge exchange, and practical solutions supporting international frameworks such as the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.
In total, eight oral presentations were included in the programme. Topics ranged from air pollution and extreme heat in sub-Saharan African cities to climate and health vulnerability assessments, agroecosystem resilience, climate-related land use change, and capacity development in green hydrogen research. Other presentations highlighted long-term African-European cooperation, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and approaches to better connect science, policy, education, and practice.
The session provided an active platform for exchange between researchers and practitioners working on climate and environmental challenges across Africa and Europe, and highlighted the importance of long-term, trust-based scientific cooperation.
