The ocean-climate-biodiversity-people nexus: uncovering safe operating space for safeguarding the integrity and health of the global ocean

The Horizon Europe funding opportunity titled "The ocean-climate-biodiversity-people nexus" aims to enhance scientific understanding of ocean health amidst climate change and human activities. This initiative falls under Cluster 6, specifically focusing on the intersection of marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and climate action. The call operates as a single-stage application process with a deadline of September 16, 2025. Eligible applicants include research institutes, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international organizations. The grant is a non-repayable financial support providing a budget of up to €76.5 millioneuros, with individual project funding typically ranging between €1 millionand €5 millioneuros. Projects must form consortia, encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration to tackle complex ocean-climate challenges. The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, countries associated with Horizon Europe, and potentially non-EU nations under specific provisions. The focus sectors of this grant cover climate action, marine conservation, sustainable blue economy, and biodiversity preservation. It emphasizes understanding ocean integrity under different emission scenarios, addressing anthropogenic threats, and tackling ocean acidification. While the exact success rates for this particular call are not specified, similar initiatives in Horizon Europe exhibit a competitive environment, with historical success rates ranging from 10% to 39%. Importantly, co-funding is typically not required for Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs), which this call encompasses. The structured approach to funding encourages interdisciplinary research and international collaboration, aspiring to develop innovative solutions for ocean management and governance. This includes integrating social sciences and humanities perspectives and addressing gender considerations within project frameworks. The initiative aligns with broader EU missions, aiming to contribute to objectives like the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030. All funded applications will undergo a single evaluation stage without preliminary selections, and projects are expected to demonstrate a clear relevance to specific EU marine basins, such as the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Baltic, North Sea, and Danube regions. In summary, this grant incentivizes collaborative research to define ecological boundaries for maintaining ocean health while addressing climate impacts. It has substantial funding provisions and seeks to bolster European leadership in marine science, supporting the sustainable management of ocean resources through innovative, evidence-based approaches.

The provided content describes a Horizon Europe funding opportunity focused on the ocean-climate-biodiversity-people nexus. The goal is to improve scientific understanding of ocean health and integrity under various climate scenarios and anthropogenic pressures, supporting climate-neutrality and ocean sustainability. The call, Cluster 6 Call 02, is a single-stage process with a deadline of September 16, 2025.

The expected outcomes include:

Improved understanding of ocean integrity limits at different emission scenarios.

Advanced science on ocean threats, risks, and impacts.

Improved understanding of ocean acidification trends and impacts.

Harmonized ocean acidification monitoring and prediction capabilities.

Contributions to key ocean monitoring indicators and international programs.

Improved Earth System Models (ESMs) for ocean processes.

Evidence-based decision-making on ocean governance.

Sustained European leadership in ocean science.

Contributions to global scientific assessments and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The scope of the actions involves developing innovative approaches in one of three options:

All funded actions must have a strong collaboration mechanism. The actions should build on existing observing platforms like Copernicus and strengthen current capacities in an interdisciplinary approach. The research should include Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) perspectives, gender considerations, and a comprehensive justice perspective. International cooperation is encouraged, especially with AAORIA partner countries, and strong links with the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) are essential.

Projects should link with sister Horizon projects, the Copernicus marine service (CMEMS), GOOS, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), MBON of GEOBON, ICOS, GCOS, and other relevant international Ocean Observing Initiatives. All in-situ data should follow INSPIRE principles and be available through open access repositories. Synergies with the Horizon Europe Mission Restore our Ocean and waters are encouraged, with project outputs potentially contributing to the European Digital Twin of the Ocean and the Destination Earth initiative.

The call is part of a coordination initiative between ESA and the European Commission on Earth System Science. Projects should leverage data and services from European Research Infrastructures, the European Open Science Cloud, Copernicus, and relevant data spaces. Collaboration with existing European Research Infrastructures such as those prioritised by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) is encouraged.

Admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries. All international organizations are exceptionally eligible. Projects using satellite-based data must use Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. The award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D, with grants awarded to highly ranked applications within each of the three options (A, B, C). Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F and the Online Manual, while the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also in Annex F. The legal and financial setup of grants is described in Annex G.

The application form templates and evaluation form templates are available in the Submission System. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide, and the Model Grant Agreement is the HE MGA. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2025 and annexes, the HE Framework Programme 2021/695, the HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764, the EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, rules for legal entity validation, and various guides and statements related to EU grants and the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The budget overview includes several topics:

There are 16 partner search announcements available.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to fund research and innovation actions that address critical challenges related to ocean health, climate change, and biodiversity. It encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, international cooperation, and the use of advanced technologies and data resources to improve our understanding of the ocean and support evidence-based decision-making for its sustainable management. The call is structured around three main options, each focusing on different aspects of ocean integrity and health, with a significant budget allocated to co-funded programs.