Climate Action and Awareness Fund

Environment and Climate Change Canada hosted a webinar session to share information on the Support to Canadian Think Tanks and Academic Institutions call for proposals. To access a recording of the webinar, please send a request to fasc-caaf@ec.gc.ca.

The Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF) will invest up to $206 million over five years to support Canadian-made projects that help to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate Action and Awareness Fund is designed to support projects that can create middle class jobs for Canadians who work in science and technology, academia, and at the grassroots community level. These projects are critical as we continue to build a sustainable net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

The Climate Action and Awareness Fund has three main priorities:

• support youth climate awareness (call for proposals closed summer 2020) and community-based climate action (1^st call for proposals closed fall 2020; 2^nd directed call for proposals closed winter 2022)
• support climate research at Canadian think tanks and in academia (call for proposals open from June 13, 2022 to July 18, 2022)
• advancing climate change science and technology (call for proposals closed spring 2021)

The Climate Action and Awareness Fund was created with contributions from the Climate Action Fund, as well as a significant investment from the Environmental Damages Fund.

Available funding

Funding for the Climate Action and Awareness Fund comes from the Environmental Damages Fund. The Environmental Damages Fund provides a mechanism for directing funds received as a result of fines, court orders, and voluntary payments to priority projects that will benefit Canada’s natural environment. The Environmental Damages Fund helps to ensure that environmental good follows environmental harm by supporting projects with measurable outcomes in Canadian communities.

Current Call for Proposals: Support to Canadian Think Tanks and Academic Institutions

The current call for proposals is seeking proposals from Canadian think tanks and academic institutions. The objective of this call for proposals is to support projects that will identify, accelerate, and evaluate climate mitigation solutions and strategies that will contribute to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

Net-zero research projects could include activities related to literature reviews and knowledge synthesis, qualitative or quantitative analysis, model development, engagement with experts and stakeholders, or community-based research, aimed at building knowledge on net-zero at the national, provincial, territorial, regional, or local scales, including findings specific to Indigenous communities.

The research themes for this call for proposals were identified by the Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB). The NZAB, established under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (CNZEAA), is a group of experts from across Canada mandated to provide the Minister of Environment and Climate Change with independent advice with respect to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Funded projects under this call for proposals will catalyze new analysis and support broader conversations on net-zero in support of the NZAB’s mandate.

For more information click here.