Innovative Climate with-Biodiversity Positive Program 2025 (Between EUR 750,000 to EUR 1.5 million)

Funding

• Successful applicants will receive grants ranging from EUR 750,000 to EUR 1.5 million.

Duration

• The grant funding period will be a maximum of 24 months.

Eligible Activities

Activities in one or more of three areas are required.

1. Forest-based activities that focus on removals of CO2

Key activities included under this category are restoration and agroforestry.

• Restoration refers to the recovery of degraded or deforested land and ecosystems: the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
• Agroforestry is the integration of trees into agricultural systems, combining crops and/or livestock with forestry to enhance both carbon sequestration and land productivity. Well-designed and implemented agroforestry systems promote biodiversity, soil health, and carbon capture.

Projects under this category should focus on generating carbon removals. REDD projects are excluded.

2. Inland wetland-based activities that focus on removals of CO2

Wetlands, particularly peatlands, store vast amounts of carbon in the form of partially decayed organic matter, and they play a crucial role in climate regulation. The protection and restoration of these ecosystems can avoid emissions and enhance carbon removals.

• Carbon removals from peatlands involve the restoration of degraded peatlands, allowing them to re-establish their natural water-logged state and resume the slow accumulation of organic matter, which sequesters carbon.

Projects under this category will focus predominantly on carbon removal. However, avoided emissions may also be considered as part of the overall project.

3. Coastal wetland activities that focus on removals of CO2

Oceans and coastal ecosystems buffer much human-induced climate change. The main coastal ecosystems that are eligible for active climate mitigation policies are mangroves, salt marshes, kelp, and seagrass beds.

Blue Carbon refers to the carbon stored in these ecosystems, which all play a crucial role in both avoided emissions and carbon removals. They sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in both biomass and the sediment beneath them.

Eligibility

• Applications will be accepted from a wide range of organisations involved in the design, development, and implementation of high-quality, scalable nature-based projects for carbon markets, such as Local or international non-governmental organisations (NGOs); Indigenous Peoples (IPs), and Local Community (LCs) organisations; private project developers; forestry and agricultural companies; cooperatives; and others with the relevant expertise.
• All applicants must be willing and able to work closely with national stakeholders, Indigenous Peoples and their traditional authorities, and local communities. For any project, consent and all required authorisations from all levels of government is necessary.
• Every applicant must demonstrate relevant competence, technical and financial capacities, and have a track record of managing comparable projects with robust environmental and social safeguards during implementation.

For more information and application.