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Strategic Analysis
This call demands a robust, interdisciplinary proposal that significantly advances the understanding and quantification of the socio-economic costs of climate inaction. A winning approach will integrate novel modelling techniques, leverage digital capabilities like Destination Earth, and comprehensively assess the full spectrum of impacts, including non-market, cascading effects, and the consequences of tipping points. Crucially, the proposal must explicitly address uncertainty, ethics, inequality, and justice, ensuring results are co-designed with stakeholders for maximum policy uptake and impact on global and EU climate ambition.
TRL 2 → 6
Based on programme defaults
Actions should develop and enhance models, methods, and tools to improve the understanding of future socio-economic costs of climate inaction (for the purpose of this topic defined as insufficient, or delayed action), advancing novel approaches and frameworks to address the limitations in existing methodologies, integrating latest scientific evidence, diverse data sources and applicable to various conditions and contexts.
In this context, actions are encouraged to leverage emerging digital capabilities, including, if appropriate, those developed under initiatives like Destination Earth.
Research should account for the full spectrum of climate impacts, such as those from extreme and low-probability high-impact events and the consequences of trespassing Earth system tipping points, to ensure more comprehensive and accurate assessments.
Cascading and compound effects as well as non-market impacts (e.g. health, biodiversity and ecosystems, migration) should be considered.
Actions should also contribute to rethinking discount rates and damage functions to better reflect the long-term uncertainty of climate impacts and their implications.
Actions should assess foregone co-benefits and missed opportunities of climate inaction, and their distribution, ranging from health-related gains to economic benefits like business and industrial opportunities, job creation, energy and economic security, innovation and lower costs, as well as environmental and social improvements such as from biodiversity conservation, and reduced inequalities.
They should assess increased adaptation needs and costs associated with inadequate mitigation, accelerated climate impacts, lost resilience, crossing of adaptation limits as well as the impact on public budgets.
To provide the full picture, the cost of climate inaction should be compared with the cost of ambitious mitigation and adaptation.
Actions should emphasise treatment of uncertainty, ethics, inequality and justice in the economic analysis of climate change.
They should explore approaches more compatible with planetary boundaries, going beyond traditional welfare and cost-effectiveness models.
This topic requires interdisciplinary collaboration between physical scientists, economists and other relevant SSH disciplines.
Actions should include a process of co-design with stakeholders (e.g., representatives of governments, public administrations, such as civil protection competent authorities, or the private sector) to support uptake of the results.
Proposals are expected to address only one of the following priority areas, which should be clearly indicated: Area A: Global Analysis should be global in scale, while also providing regionally resolved insights to enable comparisons across world regions, distinguishing between developing and developed, and duly reflecting diverse circumstances and contexts. International cooperation is generally encouraged and specifically required with low and lower/upper-middle-income countries – particularly major GHG emitters such as China (contributing to the EU-China Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) flagship initiative), India, Brazil and Indonesia. It should enable delivery of robust, representative and widely accepted estimates, and support scientific capacity building where appropriate.
Area B: The EU Actions should focus on the EU. Particular attention should be given to consequences for EU industrial performance, security of supply and strategic autonomy.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to collaborate and envisage clustering activities together and with other relevant projects in and outside of Horizon Europe.
A more robust understanding of the costs of climate inaction and their distribution, accounting for climate change impacts, foregone co-benefits such as health and biodiversity related, and increased adaptation needs, stimulating higher levels of climate ambition.
Greater consistency in how socio-economic and physical science disciplines address climate change with enhanced inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration leading to improved, more realistic and more context-specific, regionally differentiated assessments of socio-economic impacts of climate change, and tailored tools to better inform strategic decisions on climate action, security and resilience by public and private actors.
Knowledge on the interactions between climate change impacts, climate action and global and regional economic performance is advanced. More clarity is gained on the implications of climate change and climate policies on European competitiveness, economic security and strategic autonomy, with enhanced assessment of opportunities, risks, benefits and costs for the EU economy and citizens.
Best available evidence and policy recommendations are made available in a timely manner and effectively transferred to inform the Paris Agreement, European Climate Risk Assessments (EUCRA), the European Climate Adaptation Plan, the Preparedness Union Strategy, the Clean Industrial Deal, IPCC, IPBES and other initiative.
Supporting climate action (both mitigation and adaptation) in Europe and globally, through advancing climate science and the knowledge base underpinning actionable solutions, to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient and prosperous society.
Closing key knowledge gaps related to climate change, thereby contributing substantially to key European and international assessments such as IPCC, IPBES, EUCRA, and other initiatives such as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) and the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) under the World Climate Research Programme.
Strengthening the European Research Area on climate change by boosting scientific excellence and capacity in an inclusive manner across the participating countries.
Maximising synergies between mitigation and adaptation and with other policy priorities such as biodiversity and ecosystem preservation and restoration, disaster-preparedness, digitalisation, circular economy, prosperity and competitiveness, strategic autonomy, security and resilience, just transition, and the Sustainable Development Goals by exploring co-benefits, trade-offs and potential unintended consequences of climate strategies and policy interventions.
Green transition
highA more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe
highJust transition
highThe Just Transition Mechanism is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help regions, industries, and workers most affected by the transition to adapt to new economic realities.
Evaluators will expect proposals to analyze the social and economic impacts of climate change and climate action on vulnerable regions, sectors, and communities. Proposals should demonstrate how their economic analyses consider equity, identify potential disparities, and contribute to solutions that support a fair transition, minimizing negative socioeconomic consequences.
Leaving no one behind
high"Leaving no one behind" is a central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasizing that all people, regardless of their background, location, or circumstances, should benefit from development and progress. It calls for addressing inequalities and discrimination.
Evaluators will expect proposals to explicitly consider the distributional impacts of climate change and the cost of inaction across different socioeconomic groups, vulnerable populations, and regions. Proposals should demonstrate how their economic analyses identify those most at risk and contribute to policy recommendations that ensure equitable outcomes and prevent exacerbating existing inequalities.
Paris Agreement
highThe Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. It requires countries to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlining their climate action plans.
Evaluators will prioritize proposals that directly contribute to the achievement of African countries’ NDCs by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate resilience. The project should include measurable climate impacts, such as tCO2e emissions reduced, and align with decarbonization and renewable energy deployment goals. Demonstrating how the REV accelerates Africa’s transition to low-carbon energy systems will be critical.
European Climate Risk Assessments (EUCRA)
highThe European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) provides a comprehensive, EU-wide assessment of climate risks across various sectors and regions. It aims to inform policy-making and adaptation strategies by identifying key risks and their potential impacts on the EU's economy, society, and environment.
Proposals should leverage or contribute to the understanding of climate risks identified by EUCRA. Evaluators will expect analyses that integrate EUCRA's findings into economic models, cost-of-inaction assessments, and risk evaluations, demonstrating how the research enhances the EU's capacity to manage and respond to climate risks effectively.
European Climate Adaptation Plan
highThe EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, adopted in 2021, aims to make Europe climate-resilient by 2050. It focuses on smarter, faster, and more systemic adaptation, and strengthening international action, with a strong emphasis on data, risk assessments, and preparedness.
Evaluators will look for proposals that analyze the economic costs and benefits of climate adaptation measures, demonstrating how their findings can inform and strengthen the implementation of the European Climate Adaptation Plan. Proposals should contribute to a better understanding of the economic rationale for adaptation and the costs of insufficient action.
IPCC
highThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides comprehensive scientific assessments on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Proposals should demonstrate a strong scientific foundation, referencing and building upon the latest IPCC assessment reports for climate science, projections, and scenarios. Economic models and analyses of climate change impacts and the cost of inaction should be consistent with IPCC findings and methodologies.
Sustainable Development Goals
highThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a 'blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.' Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, they address global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.
Proposals should identify which specific SDGs their work contributes to (e.g., SDG 15: Life on Land, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation) and explain the nature of this contribution. While not an EU-specific policy, alignment with SDGs demonstrates a broader commitment to global sustainability.
Copernicus
highCopernicus is the EU's Earth Observation Programme, providing free and open access to vast amounts of data and information services across six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, security, and emergencies. It delivers crucial insights into the state of the Earth's environment.
Proposals should demonstrate how they will effectively utilize Copernicus data and services (e.g., from the Climate Change Service, Land Monitoring Service) to inform their economic models, risk assessments, and analyses of climate change impacts and the cost of inaction. Leveraging these data sources will enhance the robustness and accuracy of the research.
Territorial cohesion
mediumTerritorial cohesion is a core objective of the EU, aiming to reduce disparities between regions and ensure balanced and sustainable development across the Union. It emphasizes the importance of geographical specificities and challenges in policy-making.
Proposals should analyze the economic impacts of climate change and the cost of inaction with a strong territorial dimension, highlighting how different regions within the EU are affected. Evaluators will look for analyses that consider regional disparities, specific vulnerabilities, and the potential for place-based solutions to promote balanced development and resilience.
Clean Industrial Deal
mediumThe Clean Industrial Deal is a component of the EU Green Deal Industrial Plan, designed to boost the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and accelerate the transition to climate neutrality. It focuses on scaling up clean technologies and manufacturing capacity within the EU.
Proposals could analyze the economic opportunities and costs associated with the transition to a clean industrial base in the EU. Evaluators will look for analyses that quantify the economic benefits of investing in clean technologies, the costs of inaction in industrial transformation, and the potential for job creation and economic growth in a net-zero industry.
IPBES
mediumThe Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body that assesses the state of biodiversity and ecosystem services and their contributions to human well-being. It aims to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
Proposals should integrate the economic value of biodiversity and ecosystem services into their analyses of climate change impacts and the cost of inaction. Evaluators will look for research that recognizes the interlinkages between climate and biodiversity crises, quantifying the economic costs associated with biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation exacerbated by climate change.
Digital transition
lowPreparedness Union Strategy
lowThe European Health Union's Preparedness Union Strategy aims to strengthen the EU's capacity to prevent, prepare for, and respond to serious cross-border health threats. While primarily focused on health, its principles of resilience and preparedness can extend to broader societal shocks.
Proposals might tangentially link to this strategy by considering the economic impacts of climate-induced health crises or the broader economic resilience implications of climate change on critical infrastructure and societal functions. However, direct relevance to the core topic of climate change economics is limited.
Galileo/EGNOS
lowGalileo is Europe's global navigation satellite system, providing highly accurate positioning, navigation, and timing services for a wide range of applications. EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is Europe's regional satellite-based augmentation system, improving the accuracy and reliability of GPS signals.
Proposals might use Galileo/EGNOS for precise location data in specific field studies, infrastructure mapping, or monitoring related to climate impacts or adaptation measures. However, its direct relevance to the economic analysis of climate change and the cost of inaction is generally limited and would need to be clearly justified for specific data collection needs.
1. Admissibility conditions — Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries — described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .
3. Other Eligibility Conditions — If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used). For Area A-Global, the consortium must include as beneficiary or associated partner at least three independent legal entities established in three different low or lower/upper-middle-income countries[[ https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lendinggroups ; standard Horizon Europe funding rules apply - only participants from some of these countries are automatically eligible for funding]]. described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion — described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds — To ensure a balanced portfolio covering different research areas (A and B), grants will be awarded to applications not only in order of ranking but also to fund at least two highest ranked applications in each area, provided that the corresponding applications attain all thresholds. are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes — are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual .
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement — described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants — Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional obligations regarding open science practices: Open access to any new modules, models or tools developed from scratch or substantially improved with the use of EU funding under the action must be ensured through documentation, availability of model code and input data developed under the action. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf ]]. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA) Guidance HE Programme Guide Model Grant Agreements (MGA) HE MGA Lump Sum MGA Call-specific instructions Detailed budget table (HE LS) Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?"
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 14. Horizontal Activities HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes HE Programme Guide HE Framework Programme 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
Evaluators will prioritize proposals demonstrating:
Everything the call asks for, seen from the call's point of view. Each line shows what answers it, and which partner carries it.
This matrix lists everything the call asks for: outcomes, impacts, scope, the requirements buried in the call text, and policy alignment. Sign up free and GrantForge tracks each line against the concept you build.
| Requirement | Covered by | Carried | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope activities | |||
| SC1Actions should develop and enhance models, methods, and tools to improve the understanding of future socio-economic costs of climate inaction (for the purpose of this topic defined as insufficient, or delayed action), advancing novel approaches and frameworks to address the limitations in existing methodologies, integrating latest scientific evidence, diverse data sources and applicable to various conditions and contexts. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC2In this context, actions are encouraged to leverage emerging digital capabilities, including, if appropriate, those developed under initiatives like Destination Earth. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC3Research should account for the full spectrum of climate impacts, such as those from extreme and low-probability high-impact events and the consequences of trespassing Earth system tipping points, to ensure more comprehensive and accurate assessments. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC4Cascading and compound effects as well as non-market impacts (e.g. health, biodiversity and ecosystems, migration) should be considered. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC5Actions should also contribute to rethinking discount rates and damage functions to better reflect the long-term uncertainty of climate impacts and their implications. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC6Actions should assess foregone co-benefits and missed opportunities of climate inaction, and their distribution, ranging from health-related gains to economic benefits like business and industrial opportunities, job creation, energy and economic security, innovation and lower costs, as well as environmental and social improvements such as from biodiversity conservation, and reduced inequalities. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC7They should assess increased adaptation needs and costs associated with inadequate mitigation, accelerated climate impacts, lost resilience, crossing of adaptation limits as well as the impact on public budgets. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC8To provide the full picture, the cost of climate inaction should be compared with the cost of ambitious mitigation and adaptation. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC9Actions should emphasise treatment of uncertainty, ethics, inequality and justice in the economic analysis of climate change. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC10They should explore approaches more compatible with planetary boundaries, going beyond traditional welfare and cost-effectiveness models. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC11This topic requires interdisciplinary collaboration between physical scientists, economists and other relevant SSH disciplines. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC12Actions should include a process of co-design with stakeholders (e.g., representatives of governments, public administrations, such as civil protection competent authorities, or the private sector) to support uptake of the results. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC13Proposals are expected to address only one of the following priority areas, which should be clearly indicated: Area A: Global Analysis should be global in scale, while also providing regionally resolved insights to enable comparisons across world regions, distinguishing between developing and developed, and duly reflecting diverse circumstances and contexts. International cooperation is generally encouraged and specifically required with low and lower/upper-middle-income countries – particularly major GHG emitters such as China (contributing to the EU-China Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) flagship initiative), India, Brazil and Indonesia. It should enable delivery of robust, representative and widely accepted estimates, and support scientific capacity building where appropriate. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC14Area B: The EU Actions should focus on the EU. Particular attention should be given to consequences for EU industrial performance, security of supply and strategic autonomy. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC15All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to collaborate and envisage clustering activities together and with other relevant projects in and outside of Horizon Europe. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected outcomes | |||
| EO1A more robust understanding of the costs of climate inaction and their distribution, accounting for climate change impacts, foregone co-benefits such as health and biodiversity related, and increased adaptation needs, stimulating higher levels of climate ambition. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO2Greater consistency in how socio-economic and physical science disciplines address climate change with enhanced inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration leading to improved, more realistic and more context-specific, regionally differentiated assessments of socio-economic impacts of climate change, and tailored tools to better inform strategic decisions on climate action, security and resilience by public and private actors. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO3Knowledge on the interactions between climate change impacts, climate action and global and regional economic performance is advanced. More clarity is gained on the implications of climate change and climate policies on European competitiveness, economic security and strategic autonomy, with enhanced assessment of opportunities, risks, benefits and costs for the EU economy and citizens. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO4Best available evidence and policy recommendations are made available in a timely manner and effectively transferred to inform the Paris Agreement, European Climate Risk Assessments (EUCRA), the European Climate Adaptation Plan, the Preparedness Union Strategy, the Clean Industrial Deal, IPCC, IPBES and other initiative. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Other requirements | |||
| No other requirements in this call. | |||
| Expected impacts | |||
| EI1Supporting climate action (both mitigation and adaptation) in Europe and globally, through advancing climate science and the knowledge base underpinning actionable solutions, to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient and prosperous society. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI2Closing key knowledge gaps related to climate change, thereby contributing substantially to key European and international assessments such as IPCC, IPBES, EUCRA, and other initiatives such as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) and the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) under the World Climate Research Programme. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI3Strengthening the European Research Area on climate change by boosting scientific excellence and capacity in an inclusive manner across the participating countries. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI4Maximising synergies between mitigation and adaptation and with other policy priorities such as biodiversity and ecosystem preservation and restoration, disaster-preparedness, digitalisation, circular economy, prosperity and competitiveness, strategic autonomy, security and resilience, just transition, and the Sustainable Development Goals by exploring co-benefits, trade-offs and potential unintended consequences of climate strategies and policy interventions. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Underlying policies | |||
| POL1green transitionThe call is a cornerstone of the EU’s green transition, aiming to decarbonize energy systems through circular, sustainable energy storage and infrastructure retrofitting. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL2a more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic europeThe call contributes to this policy by enhancing energy security, economic viability, and stakeholder engagement, fostering a more resilient and inclusive energy system. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL3just transitionThe Just Transition Mechanism is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help regions, industries, and workers most affected by the transition to adapt to new economic realities. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL4leaving no one behind"Leaving no one behind" is a central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasizing that all people, regardless of their background, location, or circumstances, should benefit from development and progress. It calls for addressing inequalities and discrimination. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL5paris agreementThe Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. It requires countries to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlining their climate action plans. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL6european climate risk assessments (eucra)The European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) provides a comprehensive, EU-wide assessment of climate risks across various sectors and regions. It aims to inform policy-making and adaptation strategies by identifying key risks and their potential impacts on the EU's economy, society, and environment. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL7european climate adaptation planThe EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, adopted in 2021, aims to make Europe climate-resilient by 2050. It focuses on smarter, faster, and more systemic adaptation, and strengthening international action, with a strong emphasis on data, risk assessments, and preparedness. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL8ipccThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides comprehensive scientific assessments on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL9sustainable development goalsThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a 'blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.' Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, they address global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL10copernicusCopernicus is the EU's Earth Observation Programme, providing free and open access to vast amounts of data and information services across six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, security, and emergencies. It delivers crucial insights into the state of the Earth's environment. | · | · | Sign up to track |
The binding rules of this call. Items marked auto are verified by GrantForge from the call and the template. The others are yours to confirm.
LMIC entities auto-eligible
Low/middle-income country entities are automatically eligible for funding.
EU space data infrastructures
If the project uses satellite-based Earth observation, positioning, navigation or timing data/services, beneficiaries must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other sources may be added but not substitute EU infrastructures.
Civil applications only
Horizon Europe funds exclusively civil applications. Research with exclusive military or dual-use application is excluded.
Gender Equality Plan
Having a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is an eligibility criterion for public bodies, research organisations, and higher education institutions from Member States and Associated Countries.
Open Science
Mandatory open access to peer-reviewed scientific publications and responsible management of research data (FAIR principles, DMP required).
Talk to the Grant Coach to build your concept. The steps below fill in as it takes shape, and your coverage tracks the progress. You can refine everything once your project workspace is created.
Step 1 of 2 · Build your concept
The problems this call frames, and who they affect. Your concept and plan address them.
Current assessments often underestimate the true costs of insufficient or delayed climate action, particularly regarding non-market impacts, cascading effects, and the consequences of extreme events and tipping points. This incomplete picture hinders effective decision-making and fails to stimulate higher levels of climate ambition.
Existing methodologies for assessing climate change economics often lack the sophistication to fully integrate the latest scientific evidence, diverse data sources, and novel approaches required for comprehensive analysis. There is a need to advance models that better reflect long-term uncertainty, rethink discount rates, and incorporate ethical and justice considerations.
The complexity of climate change impacts and economic responses necessitates stronger collaboration between physical scientists, economists, and social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines. Furthermore, a lack of co-design with end-users limits the relevance and uptake of research findings by decision-makers.
Decision-makers at global, national, and regional levels require more accurate, regionally differentiated, and actionable assessments of climate change impacts and the costs of inaction. This gap impedes the formulation of effective climate policies, investment strategies, and preparedness measures.
National and sub-national governments, including civil protection competent authorities, responsible for climate policy, risk assessment, and strategic planning.
Businesses and industries, including those involved in critical infrastructure, energy, and finance, seeking to understand climate risks, opportunities, and inform investment decisions.
Academics, researchers, and scientific institutions working on climate change economics, impact modelling, and interdisciplinary climate science.
Organisations such as the IPCC, IPBES, and UNFCCC, which rely on robust scientific evidence to inform global climate assessments and negotiations.
European Commission services and other EU institutions responsible for developing and implementing climate policies, such as the European Climate Adaptation Plan, EUCRA, and the Clean Industrial Deal.
Non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups working on climate action, environmental protection, social justice, and sustainable development.
Step 2 of 2 · Build your concept
The long-term impacts your project should drive — this shapes the objectives next.
The project will significantly advance climate science and the knowledge base underpinning actionable solutions by providing a more robust understanding of the costs of climate inaction and their distribution. This will contribute substantially to key European and international assessments and foster scientific excellence.
By providing improved, more realistic, and context-specific assessments of socio-economic impacts, the project will stimulate higher levels of climate ambition and inform strategic decisions on climate action, security, and resilience by public and private actors. This will lead to greater consistency in how disciplines address climate change and maximise synergies with other policy priorities.
The project will boost scientific excellence and capacity in an inclusive manner across participating countries, particularly through international cooperation with low and lower/upper-middle-income countries where applicable. This will contribute to closing key knowledge gaps and strengthening the European Research Area on climate change.
The project's findings will support climate action (both mitigation and adaptation) in Europe and globally, contributing to a faster transition to a society that is climate-neutral, climate-resilient, and prosperous. This includes advancing knowledge on interactions between climate change impacts, climate action, and global/regional economic performance.