Government of Canada encourages for Climate Action & Awareness Fund

Deadline: 21-Oct-20

The Government of Canada is encouraging eligible entities for its Climate Action and Awareness Fund program which 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 continue to build a sustainable net zero emissions economy by 2050.

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

Priority Areas

The Climate Action and Awareness Fund have three main priorities:

Support youth climate awareness (request for proposals – closed summer 2020) and community-based climate action (request for proposals – fall 2020);
Support climate research at Canadian think tanks and in academia (request for proposals – winter 2021);
Advance climate science and technology (request for proposals – winter 2021).

Funding Information

The minimum project funding request is $100,000 and the maximum is $6 million.
Organizations requesting funding between $100,000 up to $500,000 must spend funds over one to two fiscal years, starting in 2020-2021.
Organizations requesting over $500,000 up to $6 million must complete their project within five years of the signed Funding Agreement.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for funding under this request for proposals, lead applicants must be one of the following:
- not-for-profit non-governmental organization;
- university or academic institution;
- Indigenous organization.
Lead applicants are responsible for submitting their proposal and for negotiating and signing a funding agreement if selected.
Lead applicants are encouraged to partner with at least one other organization, such as a non-governmental organization, Indigenous organization, university and academic institution, small and medium-sized enterprise, and/or a provincial, territorial or municipal government.
The types of support, outreach and resources provided through community-based climate action projects may include 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.
In addition, the lead applicant’s project activities must focus on a specific community. Strong proposals will demonstrate knowledge of the community, why the project is needed, and how it will support the objective. 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.