Standardising and supporting climate services for climate adaptation

The EU funding opportunity titled HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03 is aimed at standardizing and supporting climate services for climate adaptation as part of the broader EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. It allows eligible applicants, including research institutions, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, public authorities, and international organizations, to participate. This initiative seeks proposals that help advance methodologies for identifying, selecting, and consolidating reference climate data and scenarios across the EU, enhancing the quality of climate services used in climate adaptation policies.

The funding will be provided in the form of a grant, specifically a lump sum under Horizon Europe’s Research and Innovation Action (RIA), covering up to 100% of eligible project costs. Consortium participation is a requirement, mandating at least three partners from different countries, including one EU member state and two from other EU or associated countries.

Geographically, eligibility extends to EU member states, EEA countries, associated countries, and certain non-EU/non-associated countries that meet specific provisions. Proposals should address sectors such as climate adaptation, climate data and scenarios, infrastructure resilience, climate finance, and cross-sector applications related to health, agriculture, energy, and water management.

The total budget for this call amounts to approximately €9.2 million, with a single expected grant of the same value. The submission process is a single-stage with an opening date of February 4, 2026, and a deadline of September 23, 2026. Success rates for RIA projects typically range from 10% to 39%, indicating a highly competitive selection process with only one expected grant.

Projects funded under this initiative are expected to deliver robust methodologies for climate datasets, establish standardized practices for climate services, and demonstrate use cases in decision-making related to climate adaptation. Collaboration is emphasized with stakeholders such as European Standard Organizations and finance institutions to ensure that proposed solutions have operational relevance and can be effectively implemented.

Overall, the HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03 call presents a significant opportunity to enhance climate resilience through concerted efforts in data standardization and service improvement within the EU.

This EU funding opportunity, under the Horizon Europe Programme, aims to support the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan. The call, titled "Standardising and supporting climate services for climate adaptation," seeks proposals that will advance the methodology for identifying, selecting, and consolidating global and regional reference climate data sets and scenarios, ensuring their consistent use across the EU for climate adaptation. It also aims to improve the standardization and quality of climate services across the EU, enhancing their uptake and promoting the effective use of climate services and best practices to inform climate adaptation policies and decisions.

The rationale behind this funding is that as climate risks intensify, the demand for tailored and effective climate services is growing. However, the lack of sufficient regulation can compromise quality assurance and consistency of climate services, leading to poor decision-making, limited use in policy, and underdeveloped markets, ultimately resulting in maladaptation. The European Commission intends to address this by developing new standards on climate services and considering climate adaptation in European standards for infrastructure design.

The key objectives of the projects should be:

1.  Reference climate data sets and scenarios for standardised climate services: Proposals should contribute to processes standardising climate services through reference climate data sets and scenarios to be used in all EU member states and at various scales (continental, national, regional). The work should address:

 *  Advancing innovative and robust methodologies to identify, select, distil and consolidate consistent global and regional reference climate data sets and scenarios with their associated uncertainties to be clearly communicated. This should be done in close collaboration with end-users, to ensure their operational relevance and usability in adaptation decision-making across the EU. These references should be based on appropriate available observations, (re)-analyses and simulations from the main EU and/or international initiatives (e.g. CMIP, CORDEX, DestinE) using quantifiable and traceable approaches.
 *  Incorporating a mechanism for regular updates to the underlying climate scenarios, to ensure that selected climate projections remain aligned with the latest updates on emission scenarios and available scientific information.
 *  Incorporating the above methodologies and mechanisms into the standardization of climate services.

2.  Standardizing and streamlining climate service for decision and policy making in adaptation: Working closely with European Standard Organisations (such as CEN-CENELEC and others), finance institutions (such as European Investment Bank), end-users and other relevant entities, actions should address:

 *  Supporting the standardization of climate services, with special consideration for compound and other complex climate risks across temporal (multi-year to multidecadal) and spatial scales (local to regional).
 *  Promoting and demonstrating the use of pilot standardized climate services in key adaptation-related areas, assessing and integrating quality-assured climate information into decision-making. This should be in line with the adaptation objectives of the Paris Agreement and could include:
 *  Climate finance proofing processes and tools to support regulated institutions to adhere to the EU Taxonomy Regulation adaptation objectives.
 *  Climate resilience of (public and private) investments in the built environment and critical infrastructure from design to delivery and exploitation.
 *  Other sectors (e.g. health, agriculture, energy, water management, insurance, natural environment) if properly justified.

Projects are expected to build on knowledge from existing climate service research projects and explore synergies with ongoing initiatives funded by EU and national programmes (in particular Copernicus and Destination Earth). They should also include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links and collaboration with the Mission Implementation Platform, and other relevant programmes. Projects funded under this topic will be expected to participate in the Mission Community of Practice and to share relevant knowledge to feed the work of the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02.

The general conditions include admissibility conditions related to proposal page limits and layout, eligible countries, and other eligibility criteria. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country/Non-Associated Third Country are exceptionally eligible for funding. 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.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria apply. Evaluation and award processes, including award criteria, scoring, thresholds, submission, evaluation, and indicative timelines, are detailed in the annexes of the Work Programme.

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.

Application forms and model grant agreements are available in the Submission System. Additional documents include the Horizon Europe Main Work Programme, Programme Guide, Framework Programme, Specific Programme Decision, EU Financial Regulation, and rules for legal entity validation.

The budget overview lists several topics under the call:

*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-01: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: EUR 10,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: EUR 5,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: EUR 9,186,307.3, Indicative number of grants: 1
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-04: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: EUR 5,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-05: HORIZON Innovation Actions, Budget: EUR 21,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 3
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-06: HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions, Budget: EUR 12,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 2
*  HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-07: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions, Budget: EUR 20,000,000, Indicative number of grants: 1

The opening date for submissions is planned for 04 February 2026, and the deadline is 23 September 2026.

This funding opportunity is designed to bolster the EU's climate adaptation efforts by standardizing and improving the quality of climate services. It seeks to ensure that these services are reliable, accessible, and effectively used in policy and decision-making, ultimately contributing to a more climate-resilient Europe. The call encourages collaboration among various stakeholders, including research institutions, European Standard Organisations, finance institutions, and end-users, to develop and implement innovative solutions for climate adaptation.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country/Non-Associated Third Country, particularly if their involvement ensures coherence and coordination with development and standardisation of climate services at the international level. 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. The Horizon Europe Programme Guide provides more details on this.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. The eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the nature of the objectives and the need for collaboration with various entities (European Standard Organisations, finance institutions, end-users) suggest that a consortium is highly encouraged, if not implicitly required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility focuses on EU member states. However, non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible, and international organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country/Non-Associated Third Country are exceptionally eligible.

Target Sector: The target sector is climate, specifically focusing on climate services, climate adaptation, standardization, and related areas such as climate finance, infrastructure resilience, agriculture, energy, water management, and insurance.

Mentioned Countries: EU member states, non-EU countries, non-associated countries, associated countries, third countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is geared towards research and innovation actions, implying a focus on development, validation, and demonstration of methodologies and standardized climate services.

Funding Amount: The funding amount for the HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03 topic is 9,186,307.3 EUR. The indicative number of grants for this topic is 1. For other related topics under the same call, the funding amounts vary, ranging from 5,000,000 EUR to 21,000,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some context. For HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03, the indicative number of grants is 1.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, specifically the HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03 topic, aims to support the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the European Climate Adaptation Plan. The call seeks proposals that will advance the methodology for identifying and using quality-assured climate data and scenarios across the EU, improve the standardization and quality of climate services, and enhance the use of these services in informing climate adaptation policies and decisions. Projects should focus on developing innovative methodologies for consolidating climate data, standardizing climate services, and demonstrating the use of these services in key adaptation areas such as climate finance and infrastructure resilience. The call is open to a range of eligible applicants, including international organizations, with a focus on EU member states and associated countries. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, and the application process is a single-stage call. Successful proposals are expected to contribute to the broader goals of the EU's climate adaptation strategy and the Paris Agreement.