As PARIS comes to an end, so does our joint series of Early Career Researcher (ECR) knowledge-sharing meetings. Across 15 meetings, ECRs from PARIS, AVENGERS and EYE-CLIMA came together to exchange knowledge, share experiences and showcase the diversity of their research. These meetings helped connect the three projects and build networks that we hope will continue well beyond the lifetime of the projects.

At the end of June, we concluded our regular ECR meetings by looking at the bigger picture: how can research outputs such as ours be used beyond the projects themselves, and who can make use of the data we generate?

One important stakeholder is the European Environment Agency (EEA), which acts as a knowledge hub for environmental and climate information in Europe. Dr. Mendiguren from the EEA, who has supported PARIS as a member of its External Scientific Advisory Board, joined us for the final meeting to discuss how our research can contribute to European climate policy.

Over the past years, the PARIS consortium has generated a wide range of valuable outputs, from individual measurement and modelling data to intercomparisons and new tools. Dr. Mendiguren provided insights into how the EEA works with this type of research and how scientific results can support the preparation and improvement of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories.

GHG inventories are the backbone of climate accountability in the EU. Improving their quality, transparency and comparability strengthens confidence in reported emissions and helps policymakers assess progress towards climate targets. The EEA supports Member States in improving their inventories, including by providing expert guidance, checking methodologies and quality-assessing submitted data.

Independent and reliable emission estimates from inverse modelling can complement these inventories and can help, in the longer term, to provide more frequent information with less time lag. This creates opportunities to strengthen inventory checks and improve our understanding of how emissions are changing.

The final ECR meeting therefore offered a fitting conclusion to our knowledge-sharing journey: research does not end with collecting data or publishing results. Its value also lies in connecting different approaches, communities and institutions – and in ensuring that scientific knowledge can ultimately support better environmental and climate decisions.