Sustainability and resilience of climate projections and related data records for European and global science and policy

Type of action: HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA) Expected Outcome: The action should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: The EU climate data and infrastructure sovereignty is strengthened, securing access to essential observation and modelling data for European research community. Effective delivery of climate information relevant for European and global climate policy, including timely contributions to the IPCC assessments and UNFCCC processes. The resilience of the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is strengthened in Europe and globally, and the foundations for an integrated, sustainable long-term operational solution are laid. Scope: The evolution of the geopolitical situation, with the associated changes in science funding priorities and data access policies represent a major threat to evidence-based decision making. The continuity of production, maintenance and open access to climate data, including observations and projections, is fundamental for European and global climate science and policy action. Steps to ensure sustainability and resilience of the strategic resources and infrastructures in Europe needed to deliver these data are imperative. Acting on this offers an opportunity for the EU to consolidate its leadership in climate science and foster critical climate data sovereignty. The action should address all the following aspects: Track the availability of climate change projections and related data records, as well as the evolution of the global compensation efforts, gaps and risks in the context of disengagement of major partners and other geopolitical developments. Coordinate Europe-wide solutions to mitigate the most pressing risks for the European and global scientific community in the context of securing access to data needed for IPCC, WCRP, CMIP, CORDEX, and other relevant scientific initiatives. Explore options and take steps to improve the resilience, effectiveness and to further development of the ESGF: Europe: Prepare the ground towards a sustainable long-term solution, in coordination with national efforts and in the context of the ESFRI. This includes exploring all relevant options to maintain data access, improve architecture and interoperability, governance, service quality and operational aspects. Among others, it should encourage and mobilise sustained national investments in storage capacity, staff and other core resources, and explore options to expand the node network. Global coordination function: sustain access and data availability, redundancy and maintenance, including support to the necessary technical components and expert capacity, with strong focus on inclusiveness, equity, and the needs of the most vulnerable countries. Promote global interoperability and trusted frameworks. The action should build on existing efforts and engage with relevant national, European and international initiatives and stakeholders (e.g. ENES modelling community), maintaining a regular consultation on the status of data. Exploring the opportunities for integration into the landscape of research infrastructures prioritised by ESFRI is encouraged, with a view to identify long-term structural solutions and foster synergies with other stakeholders, initiatives and climate-relevant Research Infrastructures of pan-European interest. Moreover, the action should foster interoperability and alignment with common European Data Spaces, like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and downstream applications. Synergies with relevant data and service providers (e.g. relevant Copernicus Services, WMO and GCOS, ESA, EUMETSAT, ECMWF) and main EU AI- and HPC-related initiatives are also encouraged as appropriate. International cooperation is strongly encouraged specially for the global coordination component. Particular efforts should be made to ensure that the data and data management tools produced by the project funded under this topic is in line with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable) principles. The action should take into account and coordinate with relevant projects funded under the topics HORIZON-INFRA-2023-SERV-01, HORIZON-INFRA-2025-01-SERV-02, HORIZON-INFRA-2026-DEV-01-07, HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-01: Climate simulations data and knowledge for optimal support of IPCC Assessments and International Policy and HORIZON-CL5-2026-07-D1-01: Next generation climate monitoring and related capabilities to maximise complementarities and avoid redundancies. ">General conditions 1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. 2. Eligible countries described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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 in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Other Eligibility Conditions 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). If eligible for funding, legal entities established in low- to middle-income countries automatically eligible for Horizon Europe funding may exceptionally participate in this Coordination and Support Action as beneficiary or affiliated entity. described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. 5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. 5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes. 6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants 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) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]]. described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme] Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA): Application form templates Please use the application form that you will find in the Submission System. You can find examples of standard application forms in the Reference Documents page. Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)  Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)  Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1)  Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA and CSA Stage 1 BLIND) Standard evaluation form (HE PCP PPI)  Standard evaluation form (HE COFUND)  Standard evaluation form (HE FPA)  Standard evaluation form (HE MSCA)  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER CHALLENGES)  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC PATHFINDER OPEN)  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC TRANSITION)  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 1 - short proposal)  Standard evaluation form (HE EIC Accelerator stage 2 - full proposal)  Guidance HE Programme Guide  Model Grant Agreements (MGA) HE MGA  HE Unit MGA  Lump Sum MGA  Operating Grants MGA  Framework Partnership Agreement FPA  Call-specific instructions  Detailed budget table (HE LS)  Information on financial support to third parties (HE)  Information on clinical studies (HE)  Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?" Additional documents: HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 2. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 3. Research Infrastructures HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 4. Health HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 6. Civil Security for Society HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 8. Climate, Energy and Mobility HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 10. European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 11. Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 12. Missions HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 13. New European Bauhaus Facility (NEB) HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 14. Horizontal Activities HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes EIC Work Programme 2026 ERC Work Programme 2026 HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695 HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764 EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions  Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement