The Department of Labour Inspection participates in the following projects/programs which are related or/and involve topics of ambient air quality:

• Interreg - Step2Smart

Cross-Border Collaboration of Island Urban Areas to Improve Environmental Conditions Through the Use of Intelligent Transport Systems.

• LIFE - MEDEA

Mitigating the Health Effects of Desert Dust Storms Using Exposure Reduction Approaches.

• LIFE SIRIUS: System for Integrated EnviRonmental Information in Urban areaS

LIFE SIRIUS aims to improve governance in urban air quality planning and management, considering a holistic environmental approach through advancing knowledge, skills and competences of the responsible authorities, by providing a tangible pathway in order to scale-up and accelerate solutions aiming at tackling air quality issues, giving emphasis on health impacts and compound effects, and a robust framework for increasing awareness of environmental issues associated with poor air quality.

The project brings together 7 partners of excellence from 3 EU Member States (Greece, Cyprus, Italy) with a representative geographical coverage concerning the targeted environmental problem (air quality), cross-cutting complementary competences and excellent track records in European projects.

LIFE SIRIUS will improve the quality of public authorities of the three targeted areas (Thessaloniki/Greece, Rome/Italy, Nicosia/Cyprus) at all levels in relation to preparatory, mitigation and adaptation actions foreseen in respective AQPs with two main goals:

1. To increase the capacity and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration of the three regions involved in the project to upgrade the performance of AQPs in each city.

2. To develop common evaluation system regarding health effects of air pollution and future scenarios that will assess the evolution of the situation in selected future periods.

The project will also develop an Environmental Management System as a vital decision support tool that will enhance AQPs and accommodate multidimensional elements for efficient and operational information flow, facilitate management decisions for corrective actions and enhance cooperation between decision-making bodies in the scope of AQP implementation.

Start Date: 1/8/2022

End Date: 31/7/2025

Funding: € 715,636.00

Total Budget: €1.192.729,00

DLI Budget: € 12.840,00

The project Α System for Integrated EnviRonmental Information in Urban areaS – LIFE SIRIUS is co-funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union.

• Edu4ClimAte – European Higher Education Institutions Network for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences

The Edu4ClimAte project will lead capacity building actions in Cyprus and Greece to strengthen European higher education networks and their collaboration with the surrounding national ecosystems, in research and innovation activities to address challenges related to air pollution and climate change in support of the EU Green Deal, with a particular focus on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East (EMME). The region in question is an area within and around the EU, which has been identified as a global climate change 'hot spot' and is therefore of strategic importance to the success of the EU's and the World’s community efforts to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Recognizing the urgent need to address the evolving climate crisis, Edu4Climate will work to create a European University Alliance that will act as a regional hub for advancing scientific knowledge and developing innovative climate solutions.

The Edu4Climate consortium received €2 million in funding from the EU programme. "Horizon Europe Coordination & Support Action (CSA) - "European Excellence Initiative" (EEI)".

The project has a duration of 48 months (10/2022-10/2026) and twelve partners from six EU countries participate in it (Cyprus, Greece, France, Austria, Finland and Germany).

• CiROCCO – Enhancing the In-situ Environmental Observations across Under-sampled Deserts

The CiROCCO project aims to create an end-to-end sensing system, consisting of a distributed network of cost-effective sensing nodes (sensors) combined with modern remote sensing and data assimilation modeling techniques. The defined sensor network will augment the current lack of ground-based observation in desert areas by offering a functional yet easy-to-maintain and expandable solution. The commercialization services will ensure the sustainability of the facility and at the same time the discovery, accessibility, interoperability and reuse (FAIR) of the data will support the integration and assimilation services of the Cross-COPERNICUS ecosystem, contribute to addressing the evolving climate crisis and addressing the challenges of the European Green Deal.

The CiROCCO consortium received €3 million funding from the EU programme. "Horizon Europe Coordination & Support Action (CSA) - "European Excellence Initiative" (EEI)".

The project has a duration of 36 months (3/2023-3/2026) and twelve partners from seven countries participate in it (Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Serbia, Egypt, Switzerland and Luxembourg).