ERA for Climate Services

Scope: Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing a joint call for proposals with EU co-funding resulting in grants to third parties. The proposal may include, in addition, publicly-funded research performing organisations that will contribute with their own resources (in-kind contributions from their institutional funding). In this case the joint call should include a separate topic for the participating research performing organisations. They will carry out the transnational projects resulting from this call topic themselves. Their participation in the ERA-NET Cofund action must be mandated by the national/regional authorities in charge (normally the responsible Ministry).

The objective should be to undertake research actions to develop better tools, methods and standards on how to produce and use reliable data, new sets of projections and impact indicators relevant for users’ needs and capabilities. These are required by users to assess impacts of and adaptation responses to future climate variability and extreme conditions for specific regions, sectors and relevant time periods (seasonal-to-decadal) at regional and local scale. This should also include consideration of research required to respond to specific requests for services and multi-driver risk analyses, which require an inter- and trans-disciplinary two-way dialogue between scientists, information providers and end-users. Links with international climate service initiatives should be established.

Proposals should promote a wide representation of EU Member States.

Expected impact: Facilitated climate-smart public and private decision-making thereby reducing the impact of climate related hazards and promoting climate-proof management of European resources. Strengthened European integration through more effective exchange and transfer of climate-related knowledge across the EU. Support to the development and widening of the Joint Programming Initiative on Climate. Scientific support to the development of Copernicus operational activities and ClimateAdapt web portal. European contribution to the Global Framework for Climate Services (WMO-GFCS), the Future Earth Programme and relevant actions launched by the Belmont Forum. Support to the implementation of the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.

Type of action: ERA-NET Cofund