EU support for research and innovation on climate change science
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing society. EU and international research has significantly furthered our understanding of the causes of climate change, leaving no doubt about the role of human activities as a primary driver.
To limit warming to 1.5°C, immediate and deep emission reductions are urgently needed across all productive sectors and society in general. We need to act now and use every tool and solution at our disposal – not only technological, but also nature-based and societal. But science has also illuminated the breadth of available response options, both mitigation and adaptation related. Today’s pressing challenge is to accelerate their implementation and uptake.
The EU is committed to high climate ambition and its response is anchored in best available scientific evidence, such as the IPCC assessments. The European Green Deal, also inspired by science, is providing a strong momentum for ambitious climate action. With the entry into force of the European Climate Law, reaching climate neutrality at EU level by 2050, and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by at least 55% compared to 1990 became legally binding. In turn, the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change sets out how the EU can adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and become climate resilient by 2050.
Recognising the key role of science as a compass for effective policies, the European Climate Law also provides for the establishment of a European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change to inform the design and implementation of EU climate action. The results of EU funded research are an important source of information for the Board.
To ensure state-of-art scientific evidence is available to guide design and implementation of climate strategies in Europe and globally, the EU continues to be a leading force as a key funder of world class climate science. The high quality and relevance of EU-funded research is also reflected by EU projects’ contribution to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Current research and innovation activities supported through Horizon Europe Cluster 5 Destination 1 - “Climate sciences and responses” - focus on
- Earth system science
- Climate change mitigation, pathways to climate neutrality
- Climate change impacts and adaptation
- Social science, citizen science and behavioural science for climate action
- International cooperation
- Cross-cutting climate related issues
In parallel, Horizon Europe Cluster 6 supports a broad range of activities in the domain of Polar and ocean research, key components of the Earth system.
In addition to Destination 1 projects improving our basic knowledge about the impacts and risks associated with the changing climate, and multiple research activities mainstreaming adaptation across the entire Horizon Europe programme, the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change is paving the way towards faster uptake of innovative solutions to adapt locally to climate change and encourage regions, cities and communities to boost their climate preparedness.
Related research and innovation areas
Documents
Insights from the authors of the IPCC 6th assessment report on knowledge gaps and priorities for research.
Funding opportunities
On this page you can find more information, the work programme and a link to climate-related calls
Co-financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation research, supporting the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy
Funding for demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies
Climate research related calls may be found in this programme, particularly in the European regional development fund.
COST (European cooperation in science and technology) funds bottom-up, open research and innovation networks
Projects and results
The Commission's primary portal for the results of EU-funded climate research projects
This Result Pack focuses on 10 EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects that are helping to pave the way for a climate-neutral economy and society.
Stories of particularly successful EU-funded circular economy research projects
Latest news, interviews and features about thought-provoking science and innovative research projects funded by the EU
Platform where framework programme participants present their results for you to search, contact their owners, and form partnerships
Access to real-time programme data with the ability to filter by country, region, theme and more
Dashboard presenting details of all grant agreements managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Data includes EU contribution by country, number of projects and beneficiaries
Collaboration and jobs
Joint Programming initiative aligning national programmes by jointly coordinating their climate research and funding new transnational research activities.
Partnership of funding organisations, international science councils, and regional consortia advancing transdisciplinary science and environmental change research.
Multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals in which the Commission actively participates.
Networking opportunities and marketplace to promote the output of your project or network.
Find partners for open EU calls for proposal.
Researcher jobs in the field of nature-based solutions
Scientific publications, tools and databases
Online library of EU climate research publications
Scientific climate research publications published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Platform for sharing data and information to inform decision making on climate adaptation
You can access all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE
Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions - all data free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes
Latest
Research and innovation news alert: The first day features the opening ceremony at 14:00 CET, a journey through the 40-year-old history of the EU R&I framework programme and discussions about its future, and culminates with the announcement of the Women Innovators Prize Ceremony at 17:00 CET.
The aim of the report is to provide policy recommendations regarding the design, principles and solution landscapes needed for a long-term, forward-looking R&I agenda to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions.
European Commission has launched the preparations for the new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on climate and health, after collecting large amounts of input from all the participating experts, through a total of 4 plenary sessions and 12 side sessions.
