Filter Search for grants
Call Navigation
Call key data
Economics of climate change and cost of inaction
Funding Program
Horizon Europe: Cluster 5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
Call number
HORIZON-CL5-2026-07-D1-03
deadlines
Opening
18.12.2025
Deadline
15.04.2026 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 16,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 4,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
As emphasized by the IPCC, it is urgent to better understand the benefits and opportunities associated with deep, rapid and sustained mitigation and accelerated adaptation action to inform strategic decisions. Comprehensive assessments of the socio-economic impacts of climate change are essential for this, however, current approaches face significant challenges with a wide uncertainty in global damage estimates, fragmentation, lack of comparability across methodologies, and reliance on extrapolation from historical data, increasingly unrealistic in the context of current unprecedented changes in the climate system.
Call objectives
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.
read more
Expected results
Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes:
- 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.
read more
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Liechtenstein, Morocco (المغرب), Norway (Norge), Switzerland (Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Mandatory partnership
Yes
Project Partnership
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States: Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
- countries associated to Horizon Europe; Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo28, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom. Other third countries may become associated to Horizon Europe during the programme. For the purposes of the eligibility conditions, applicants established in other third countries negotiating association to Horizon Europe will be treated as entities established in an Associated Country, if the Horizon Europe association agreement with the third country concerned applies at the time of signature of the grant agreement.
- the following low- and middle-income countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (Arab Republic), El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.
Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
As affiliated entities do not sign the grant agreement, they do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for consortium composition (if any).
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.
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).
other eligibility criteria
Specific cases
Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any specific call/topic conditions.
Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’) — Where provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC, but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities (otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).
EU restrictive measures — Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) as well as Article 75 TFEU, are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine — Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.
With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014) concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, legal entities established outside Russia whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by a legal person, entity or body established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary — Following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506, as of 16 December 2022, no legal commitments can be entered into with Hungarian public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity they maintain. Affected entities may continue to apply to calls for proposals and can participate without receiving EU funding, as associated partners, if allowed by the call conditions. However, as long as the Council measures are not lifted, such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.). In the case of multi-beneficiary grant calls, applicants will be invited to remove or replace that entity in any funded role and/or to change its status into associated partner. Tasks and budget may be redistributed accordingly.
Additional information
Topics
Relevance for EU Macro-Region
EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region
UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)
Additional Information
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Applications must be submitted using the forms provided inside the electronic submission system (not the templates available on the topic page, which are only for information). The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the forms.
Applications must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents.
Applications must include a plan for the exploitation and dissemination of results including communication activities, unless provided otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions. The plan is not required for applications at the first stage of two-stage procedures. If the expected exploitation of the results entails developing, creating, manufacturing and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, the plan must include a strategy for such exploitation. If the plan provides for exploitation of the results primarily in non-associated third countries, the applicants must explain how that exploitation is to be considered in the EU’s interest.
The application form will have two parts:
- Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
- Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.
Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).
The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages.
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).
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.
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.
Call documents
Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Cluster 5 - Climate, Energy and MobilityHorizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Cluster 5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility(2457kB)
Contact
To see more information about this call, you can register for free here
or log in with an existing account.
Log in
Register now


