Climate Action Research and Tracking Service

The European Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS) provides comprehensive research and analytical support to the Members of the European Parliament, its parliamentary committees and the European Parliament as a whole. The EPRS philosophy is to provide independent, objective and authoritative information. More than 300 staff work in the DG's 25 units and services.  

More information about EPRS is available here:

• https://youtu.be/sMBLKXKhOhE?si=W7_bKixnb382sEq4
• https://epthinktank.eu/about/

 Why choose a traineeship at DG EPRS?   

'Empowering through knowledge' is the guiding principle of EPRS. As an EPRS trainee, you will be exposed to the core of the research and analysis process in the European Parliament. Surrounded by colleagues working on publications covering a wide range of EU policies, you will gain detailed knowledge of the EP's workings while honing your skills in your specific topic of interest. If you choose a traineeship in one of EPRS's library units, you will help the parliamentary community find the resources they need for their work.   

The "Climate Action Research and Tracking Service (CART)" is a specialised service focused on climate change in general and EU climate policy in particular. It was established after the European Parliament declared a climate and environmental emergency, with the aim of providing MEPs with enhanced research and analytical capacity in this area. CART is a multidisciplinary team of four international experts, and has four main areas of activity:  

• Answering MEP requests for information and analysis;
• Providing briefing notes with background information on climate-related legislative projects to support the Parliament's legislative activities, as well as briefings on topical issues related to the transition towards climate neutrality;
• Systematic analysis of EU and Member States' progress towards EU climate targets, and presentation in a graphical and interactive format;
• Organisation of events on climate issues with invited MEPs, stakeholders and experts.

An example of CART's work is the series on climate action in the EU and its Member States:  

• https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/research/advanced-search?textualSearch=%22climate+action+in%22+latest++state+of+play&publicationTypes=BRIEFING&startDate=01%2F07%2F2019&endDate=&sort=RELEVANCE&firstCameToPage=false 

You will be involved in the activities of the CART service. This includes:                   

• Researching information and drafting answers to information requests from MEPs;     
• Drafting analytical texts on EU climate policy and other climate-related issues;  
• Providing content for our social media channels;
• Analysing data from Eurostat and other statistical sources;
• Presenting information in the form of graphs and infographics;
• Participation in activities like the preparation of events.

The working language will generally be English, although we occasionally handle information requests in other languages. You will attend the weekly CART team meeting.

In line with your interests and competences, there may be the opportunity to draft a briefing on an issue that is of relevance to the parliamentary work, in addition to assisting with the daily tasks of the service.

• Please see our briefing on international climate finance: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)754616
• You may also have the opportunity to participate in special EPRS projects, such as "What Europe does for me": https://what-europe-does-for-me.eu/en/home

Ideally, you have an academic or professional background in an area related to climate change, such as climate science, environment, energy, environmental law, environmental economics, etc. A knowledge of statistics would be an additional asset.

• Curiosity and a willingness to learn new things are important qualities;
• The nature of the work requires the respect of deadlines, accuracy when it comes to facts, in-depth analysis of issues and clear presentation in text and graphics;
• A certain flexibility is appreciated because MEP requests often come with short deadlines and on a variety of issues;
• The IT environment is based on MS-Windows. The daily tools are MS-Word, Excel, and a number of in-house applications;
• You will have access to the European Parliament Library as well as specialised documentation databases.