Palaeoclimate science for a better understanding of Earth system dynamics
Palaeoclimate science for a better understanding of Earth system dynamics supports research teams studying past climates through records, reconstructions and modelling to improve future climate scenarios.
Funder: European Commission
Due Dates: November 17, 2026 (Opens) | March 4, 2027, 17:00 Brussels local time (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: €14 million total topic budget; approximately €7 million per project; 2 expected grants
Summary: Supports palaeoclimate records, reconstructions and modelling to improve understanding of Earth system dynamics and future climate scenarios.
Key Information: Requires at least three independent beneficiaries in three countries, including one EU Member State and two other Member States or Associated Countries.
Description
The European Commission funds this Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action to investigate past climate states and events beyond the variability recorded in recent centuries. The topic focuses on evidence from geological, biological and ice-core records, including warm climates, high sea levels, deglaciations and abrupt transitions. Its goal is to improve understanding of climate processes and ecosystem interactions, strengthen Earth system models and inform future climate scenarios.
Supported work includes high-resolution, well-dated, interoperable palaeoclimate databases; quantitative reconstructions using different proxies; and models that allow more direct comparison with palaeoclimate data across years to millennia. Projects may investigate climate and ecological tipping points, driving mechanisms, feedbacks, thresholds and early warning signals. Syntheses should help underpin IPCC assessments and provide benchmarks for model inter-comparisons.
