ECORISK2050 · Effects of global change on the emission, fate, effects and risks of chemicals in aquatic ecosystems

By 2050, the world population will reach nine billion people and three quarters of the global population will live in cities. The development path to 2050 will be marked by shifts in land-use and weather patterns, and by changes in the way water and food resources are obtained and managed all over the world. These global changes (GCs) will affect the emissions, environmental transport pathways and fate of chemicals, and thus affect the exposure of the natural environment to chemicals. Future changes may also alter the sensitivity of ecosystems to chemical exposure. Therefore, the ECORISK2050 project brings together a world leading and interdisciplinary consortium of universities, research institutes, industry and regulatory and governmental authorities to deliver a cohort of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs). The coupled training goals and research objectives of the project are: (1) to assess how the inputs of chemicals from agriculture and urban environments and their fate and transport are affected by different environmental conditions, including those of specific EU regions, and how this will change under GC scenarios in order to assess the likely increase in chemical risks to human and ecosystem health; (2) to identify potential adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be implemented in the short and medium term, to abate unacceptable changes in risks, and use the GC scenarios to propose robust implementation pathways, and (3) to develop a set of tools for use by industry and policy makers, that allow the impacts of a range of GC-related drivers on chemicals risks to be assessed and managed. The project will deliver the next generation of scientists, consultants and industry and governmental decision-makers who have the knowledge and skill sets required to address the changing pressures that chemicals emitted by agricultural and urban activities pose to aquatic systems on the path to 2050 and beyond.