Austrian Climate Research Programme 2024

The threatening effects of a changing climate are becoming more and more evident and sound climate research is needed as the foundation for evidence-based transformation of society. Initiated by the Climate and Energy Fund – and established as the largest of national climate research programme of its kind – the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP) continues to deliver new and valuable research findings for decision-makers at all levels, while exploring actionable pathways for policymakers, businesses, and civil society.

The Climate and Energy Fund (Klima- und Energiefonds) is an important instrument of the Austrian Federal Government for the creation of incentives in the field of climate policy. The Climate and Energy Fund supports a broad range of research topics with the intention to help Austria to deal with climate change through adaptation and mitigation, and to contribute to building a high level of climate research competence for relevant policy areas in Austria.

The ACRP focuses on research on climate change and climate actions, adaptation, mitigation and their mutual interrelation. The intent is to provide scientific background for the implementation of the Austrian strategy for adaptation to climate change, the National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP) and the Paris Agreement.

Objectives

• The overarching objectives of ACRP research are:
  • to support climate policy in Austria on local, regional, national and international scales, especially on topics relevant to climate adaptation and mitigation, and their conflicts and synergies,
  • to support and strengthen the Austrian climate research community and to increase the visibility of research activities,
  • to fill knowledge gaps and develop scientific methods and tools.
• At least one of these objectives must be addressed in the application.

Thematic Areas

• Thematic Area 1 – Understanding the climate system and the consequences of climate change
  • This thematic area invites proposals that address these and other research gaps. A focus should be set on the societal relevance of research questions and the provision of usable knowledge for adaptation, mitigation, and transformation.
  • The following topics are a non-exclusive list to inspire scientific proposals. Proposals on other relevant research topics that address climate change and its consequences with a relevance for Austria are welcome as well.
    • Climate change and the climate system: 
      • Research topics may include, among many others, gaining a better understanding of sources and sinks of emissions (including the role of forest, peat bogs and other ecosystems as sinks or sources), a better understanding of the dynamics of extreme events and their climate change attribution (particular in mountain regions), feedback loops between climate change and the impact on land surface processes, for instance, through changes in snow cover, albedo, soil moisture or evapotranspiration, and the role of global or local tipping points.
    • Consequences for ecological and human systems:
      • Research questions could address impacts on specific sectors (e.g., agriculture, forestry, health or transport) or address multiple impacts across ecological and human systems considering the complex interplay of compounding and cascading hazards and impacts.
    • Climate risks:
      • Proposals in this thematic area should motivate the research questions and research approaches by referencing the state-of-the-art in international science, by identifying the respective research gaps and by putting the expected results in the context of international research (progress beyond state-of-the-art).
• Thematic Area 2 – Specific support for Austria’s policymakers
  • Specific research needs arise in policymaking. Research in this field should go beyond analysis and improved understanding to provide options that address the real-life problems policymakers face. Such research must be embedded in a larger context, e.g., that of the SDGs, to avoid offering counterproductive solutions. Thematic area 2 is dedicated to such research, with an emphasis on, but not limited to the following topics needed by policymakers.
    • Climate change in all areas: 
      • In order to achieve a not only climate neutral but also climate resilient future, systemic approaches are needed. In all relevant policy areas, climate change effects and induced risks alongside with integrated adaptation measures need to be considered and fostered (mainstreaming).
    • Aligning finances with climate targets:
      • Of interest are research projects investigating the influence of the financial sector on climate-relevant environmental goals, with specific focus on the following questions:
        • What do financial institutions contribute to achieving climate and environmental goals? How effective are the transparency regulations that have been strengthened in recent years, and how much do they contribute to redirecting financial flows? How and where must investments be made to achieve climate and environmental goals – and what is the current status quo? What are the obstacles (especially from a financial perspective) to mobilizing private capital and how can these be overcome? Which public financial flows contribute to climate and environmental goals and how, and where are these contradictory?
    • Making adaptation tangible:
      • Adaptation is inherently qualitative, but day-to-day politics increasingly require making adaptation numerically tangible – at least with some meaningful headline indicators. The aim is to make the importance of adaptation more visible in a society that is predominantly numbers-oriented.
    • Conflicting targets:
      • A focus on climate neutrality – an objective of highest importance – could compromise other valuable targets, e.g., the protection of biodiversity. How to promote a systemic, consistent and sustainable approach in mitigation and adaptation in Austria? Another conflicting area in this context addresses the health/mitigation nexus: clean air for human health vs. biomass burning as promoted in order to cut down CO₂ emission.
    • Social aspects:
      • The goal is to gain further insight into the social aspects of climate change and adaptation measures, especially in relation to health and well-being.
      • Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 will be a major challenge, both technically and socially. The reduction of emissions and the development of adaptation strategies are among the primary goals of the ACRP research agenda. Nevertheless, net negative emissions and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) that leverage nature-based solutions must be part of all national decarbonization pathways.
• Thematic Area 3 – Transformative change
  • Mitigation and adaptation to climate change are embedded in broader questions of how societies can meet the SDGs and remain within a safe operating space on the planet. It is important to recognize the urgency of addressing climate change along with its interlinkages with these other SDGs. The sequence of crises over the last years has demonstrated the need for a holistic perspective by raising awareness of the interconnections, challenges and opportunities for connecting agendas at all scales. The goal of the Austrian government programme to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 ties in with this aim.
    • Understanding the mechanisms of deep-structural transformational change:
      • Proposals are welcomed that focus on root causes of the challenges described above and explore strategies and mechanisms that aim to transform deep-seated and structural unsustainabilities in relevant systems.
    • Focus on systems:
      • They invite project proposals that focus on critical systems, such as energy, mobility, housing, food and industry. They also invite project proposals focusing on systems enabling or challenging sustainable transformations, such as the financial system, legal and governance structures, health systems and the labour market.
    • Thinking outside the box:
      • Project proposals under Thematic area 3 are encouraged to transcend disciplinary boxes and boundaries and find innovative ways to address sustainability challenges. Proposals should thus clearly outline the specific challenge to transformation that is being addressed and how the project can contribute to transformative change in science and practice.
    • To summarise, Thematic Area 3 particularly calls for project proposals:
      • from single disciplines addressing underresearched areas (e.g., legal or financial aspects),
      • with systemic perspectives, linking different societal sub-systems or topics,
      • following a transdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge from different disciplines as well as practice (e.g., action and participatory research, real-world labs and experimental approaches, citizen science etc.),
      • which help to understand interlinkages between climate change and other SDGs (e.g., related to biodiversity, air and water quality, food and energy security, human health) and addressing compound effects of multiple crises.

Funding Information

• Up to 5 Mio. EUR of funding are available for research projects.
• The minimum funding per project is 60.000 EUR (incl. overhead costs).
• The maximum funding per project is 350.000 EUR (incl. overhead costs).

Targeted Areas

• The scope of ACRP climate research encompasses all relevant sectors and areas of activity in Austria, such as tourism, agriculture and forestry, infrastructure and energy, water and drought/flood management, and biodiversity and human health. The financial and legal sectors and their relevance to climate policy are also included. The scope of the call extends to international climate policy for which Austrian policymakers provide input. Regardless of the thematic sector, aspects of climate change, mitigation or adaptation in Austria must be addressed in all ACRP projects.
• The research programme funds projects, which address the effects of climate change over the coming decades. Therefore, global change phenomena such as demographic and economic developments, energy and land use issues, and synergies or trade-offs with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must be taken into account.
• Engineering and technical research topics are beyond the scope of ACRP and should be addressed in other funding programmes.

Targeted Communities

• The programme primarily addresses scientific, administrative and policy communities.
• Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary project proposals, including proposals, which cover several thematic areas, are encouraged. Focused disciplinary research, especially if it is particularly innovative or useful, is also eligible. International participation to enhance international visibility and knowledge transfer to Austria is encouraged as well.
• Early stakeholder involvement (e.g., community administrations, the public, governmental/international policymakers, NGOs and industry) is encouraged at all levels, for instance, incorporating local knowledge and cogenerating policy options. Stakeholder involvement is particularly important for projects within thematic areas 2 and 3.

Eligibility Criteria

• Institutions of research and knowledge dissemination (research organisations) within the scope of their non-economic activities are eligible for funding.
  • Universities (universities and universities of applied sciences)
  • Non-university research institutions.
• The following may participate but may not receive funding:
  • Subcontractors: They are not participants in terms of cooperation. They provide defined tasks for project participants which are listed under the cost category “third-party costs” and are not entitled to exploit the project results. National and international businesses and other practitioners as well as individual researchers from Austria can be listed under the cost category “thirdparty costs” as subcontractors of the applicant or of one of the project partners. Consortium partners must not be subcontractors at the same time.
  • Other participants: These are persons or institutions (including businesses) that do not receive funding, but are mentioned in the funding contract, including the scope of their participation. Their rights and duties are also stipulated by contract. Their participation needs to be justified in the application.
• Project partners can include foreign research organisations as long as full publication of results is guaranteed and if the transfer of research tools such as models or data is ensured.

For more information, visit Climate and Energy Fund.