CFPs: Fighting Disinformation and Effectively Communicating on Climate Change

This initiative provides €15,000,000 in funding, with individual grants ranging from €4,000,000 to €5,000,000, to develop tailored, innovative, and effective communication techniques and materials that better engage citizens on climate change, climate action, and climate policies. By strengthening public trust in science and democracy, these projects aim to increase acceptance of climate action, enhance societal resilience, and promote sustained behavioral change through improved climate literacy, supporting the objectives of the Preparedness Union Strategy.

Research under this funding is expected to explore the sources, channels, and influence of misinformation, including the role of AI, and to design strategies for both public and private sectors to monitor and mitigate disinformation online and offline. Projects should bridge the gap between climate knowledge and behavioral change, considering the diverse perceptions across different societal groups. They are expected to develop multilingual, engaging, and evidence-based communication frameworks, identify best-practice examples at European and international levels, and train climate scientists to communicate effectively with non-specialist audiences, including policymakers and other stakeholders.

Targeted campaigns should be designed to increase climate awareness and preparedness while preventing climate anxiety and promoting fact-checking, transparency, and critical interpretation of uncertainties. Citizen engagement, particularly among youth and vulnerable groups, is strongly encouraged. Communication strategies, tools, and products should be adapted to real-world contexts, leverage digital and visual tools, including AI, and demonstrate clear pathways for uptake and scaling through piloting and integration into existing platforms.

While the primary focus of the actions is Europe, international cooperation is encouraged, particularly with the United States and low- to middle-income countries eligible under Horizon Europe. The research requires a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing from natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, behavioral sciences, media studies, and communication theory, with active participation from SMEs and the private sector. Collaboration and clustering with other Horizon Europe projects and EU Missions on Adaptation to Climate Change and Climate-neutral and Smart Cities are recommended.

Aligned with the EU Strategic Plan for 2026–2027, these projects contribute to the green and digital transitions and aim to create a more resilient, inclusive, and democratic Europe. Expected impacts include supporting climate action in Europe and globally, closing knowledge gaps relevant to key assessments such as IPCC, IPBES, CMIP, and CORDEX, strengthening the European Research Area, and maximizing synergies between climate policies and other priorities, including biodiversity, disaster preparedness, circular economy, prosperity, security, and the Sustainable Development Goals. These projects are a critical step in accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient, and prosperous society.

For more information, visit European Commission.