Places all over the world are already experiencing the negative impacts caused by climate change. These detrimental shifts are only likely to increase over time, making strong adaptation efforts more important than ever. The Government of Canada is making great strides in the battle to reduce effects of climate change by investing in critical projects to fight towards a more sustainable, livable future.
Through the Climate Action and Awareness Fund, eligible applicants can receive funding up to a maximum of $6 million per sustainability-focused project.
With more government funding programs focused on the large-scale issue that is climate change, businesses across the country may play a true role in researching and developing long-lasting, sustainable solutions to tackle the countless and current environmental catastrophes that are happening around the world.
What Is the Climate Action and Awareness Fund?
The new Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF) has promised a total of $206 million in government funding to be distributed over five years in support of Canadian-made projects that will help reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The CAAF has been implemented to focus on projects that will primarily address critical climate change issues, but also assist in creating thousands of jobs for Canadians who work in the middle-class levels of science, tech, and academia sectors.
“As our climate continues to change, we need to re-think and adapt many aspects of how we design and build our communities. Projects like this will improve the health, safety, and quality of life for Canadians by helping to build more climate resilient communities.”
– Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Canada’s Natural Resources
The CAAF program is currently accepting applications for community-based climate action projects, and is expected to launch the selected climate research and technology development projects in Winter 2021.
Eligibility: Community-Based Climate Action Projects
Eligible Applicants:
Lead applicants must be one of the following:
- Not-for-profit non-governmental organizations
- University or academic institutions
- Indigenous organizations
Eligible Projects:
- Support, outreach, and resource creation activities, such as workshops, networking, training, virtual platforms, climate-awareness activities – including those related to Indigenous Knowledge – and more. These activities should enable communities to take action on climate change.
- Project activities must focus on a specific community. Potential communities include, but are not limited to:
- Indigenous communities
- Communities facing obstacles to engaging in climate action
- Communities experiencing low engagement on climate action
- Communities with significant exposure to climate risk
Project Timelines:
- Funding decisions will be released Winter 2021.
- Organizations requesting funding between $100,000-$500,000 must spend funds over one to two fiscal years, starting in 2020-2021.
- Organizations requesting over $500,000 and up to $6 million must complete their project within five years of the signed funding agreement.
How to Apply for the Climate Action and Awareness Fund
The upcoming application intake deadline is October 21, 2020.
If you are interested in this program, please contact the Mentor Works team to evaluate the suitability of your climate action project. Make sure to stay up to date with government funding news and program announcements by subscribing to the free Weekly Funding Newsletter that is delivered right to your inbox every Monday morning.