Loading…
Strategic Analysis
A winning proposal must seamlessly bridge high-resolution empirical proxy reconstructions with state-of-the-art Earth System Models (ESMs) to evaluate past climate analogues, non-linear tipping points, and abrupt transitions. The core strategic positioning lies in converting deep-time and quaternary dynamics into actionable benchmarks directly feeding into IPCC AR7, CMIP7/PMIP, and European climate adaptation roadmaps. Operating under the lump-sum regime, the work plan must demonstrate robust work package resource justifications paired with strict adherence to FAIR palaeodata stewardship.
TRL 2 → 6
Based on programme defaults
Producing and aggregating in databases high-resolution, well-dated, interoperable palaeoclimatic records on climate variability in terms of amplitude, time (onset, duration, frequency) and space (location, extension), extending the instrumental time series to improve our understating of the proxy records and the quantification of their uncertainties;
Development of Earth system models with outputs that allow a more direct comparison to palaeo data, modelling climate variability, thresholds, and impacts across timescales from years to millennia;
Describing short- to long-term climate evolution and the natural climate variability using quantitative reconstructions from different proxies of past climate periods;
Identification of climate-related (including ecological) tipping points and their consequences using palaeo data and model experiments.
Allowing for consistent integration of large-scale and more regional/local factors to be reproduced by climate models using natural forcings.
Better process understanding of past climate changes at different time scales, their variability and interactions with ecosystems, leading to improved Earth system models;
Future climate change scenarios produced in light of past changes in the Earth system, in particular warm climates/high sea-level situations, and abrupt transitions;
Identification of thresholds in Earth system components and better characterisation of driving mechanisms and feedbacks that may be responsible for non-linear behaviours, including indicators of abrupt changes, and early warning signals within palaeoclimate records;
Synthesis of climate variations that can serve as fundamental basis for IPCC assessments and benchmarks for model inter-comparisons.
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.
No EU policy alignment identified for this call.
Specific requirements
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).
">
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.
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.
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).
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
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
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Framework Partnership Agreement FPA
Call-specific instructions
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 – 15. General Annexes
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
Evaluators will critically scrutinize whether palaeoclimatic proxy databases are genuinely interoperable and whether model enhancements provide direct, quantitative 'proxy-surrogate' comparisons across decadal to millennial timescales. They will score heavily on the explicit identification of Earth system tipping points (ocean circulation, cryosphere collapse, biosphere feedbacks) and their direct applicability to future warm climate scenarios. Evaluators will also verify compliance with mandatory Copernicus/Galileo integration if Earth observation is utilized, a comprehensive Open Science/FAIR data management plan, and concrete institutional linkages to CMIP, CORDEX, and IPCC cycles.
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 | |||
| SC1Producing and aggregating in databases high-resolution, well-dated, interoperable palaeoclimatic records on climate variability in terms of amplitude, time (onset, duration, frequency) and space (location, extension), extending the instrumental time series to improve our understating of the proxy records and the quantification of their uncertainties; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC2Development of Earth system models with outputs that allow a more direct comparison to palaeo data, modelling climate variability, thresholds, and impacts across timescales from years to millennia; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC3Describing short- to long-term climate evolution and the natural climate variability using quantitative reconstructions from different proxies of past climate periods; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC4Identification of climate-related (including ecological) tipping points and their consequences using palaeo data and model experiments. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC5Allowing for consistent integration of large-scale and more regional/local factors to be reproduced by climate models using natural forcings. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected outcomes | |||
| EO1Better process understanding of past climate changes at different time scales, their variability and interactions with ecosystems, leading to improved Earth system models; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO2Future climate change scenarios produced in light of past changes in the Earth system, in particular warm climates/high sea-level situations, and abrupt transitions; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO3Identification of thresholds in Earth system components and better characterisation of driving mechanisms and feedbacks that may be responsible for non-linear behaviours, including indicators of abrupt changes, and early warning signals within palaeoclimate records; | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO4Synthesis of climate variations that can serve as fundamental basis for IPCC assessments and benchmarks for model inter-comparisons. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Other requirements | |||
| REQ1Collaboration and clustering among funded and relevant external projectsProjects 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 |
| REQ2Mandatory use of Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS earth observation servicesIf 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. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ3Synergies with Cluster 6 research activitiesEfforts to foster synergies and complementarities across research activities with other Clusters—particularly Cluster 6 addressing the climate-ocean-cryosphere-polar and climate-energy-land-food-water-biodiversity nexuses—are strongly encouraged. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| REQ4Interoperable databases and FAIR palaeodata stewardshipWork plans must demonstrate strict adherence to FAIR palaeodata stewardship, producing and aggregating high-resolution, well-dated records into interoperable databases. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| 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 | |||
| No underlying policies in this call. | |||
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).
4 key insights you must internalise before writing. Each is grounded in the call text and tells you what evaluators will actually look for. Share these with your consortium before drafting.
Evaluators are explicitly instructed to score heavily on the identification of Earth system tipping points, specifically ocean circulation, cryosphere collapse, and biosphere feedbacks. A winning methodology must not only reconstruct these past events but explicitly map their direct applicability to future warm climate scenarios.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
If your methodology relies on satellite-based earth observation or positioning data, the use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS is mandatory. Evaluators will actively verify compliance with this requirement, making it a strict pass/fail technical gate for proposals utilizing satellite services.
Source: Eligibility rules
The evaluation criteria demand concrete institutional linkages to CMIP, CORDEX, and IPCC cycles. Consortia must move beyond standard dissemination plans and embed active contributors or formal advisory connections to these bodies to ensure the synthesized benchmarks directly feed into the IPCC AR7 and CMIP7/PMIP frameworks.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
Proposals will face critical scrutiny on whether their Earth System Model (ESM) enhancements enable direct, quantitative 'proxy-surrogate' comparisons across decadal to millennial timescales. The technical architecture must guarantee that palaeoclimatic proxy databases are genuinely interoperable with the forward modeling outputs.
Source: Evaluation criteria (pre-award)
Nothing to show for this call yet.