Deadline: 31 July 2026

ARIA – Advanced Research + Integration Agency is launching a seed funding call to support early-stage research that explores new pathways for climate adaptation and resilience. This opportunity aims to find bold ideas and test rigorous, independent hypotheses to address gaps in climate and weather mitigation. Projects should focus on practical and responsible interventions to prepare for abrupt climate system alterations, with funding ranging from £10,000 to £500,000 per project. PhD students are eligible.

Topics

• Carbon dioxide removal: Novel concepts to accelerate atmospheric carbon drawdown;
• Extreme weather forecasting: Breakthroughs in predicting extreme weather events to better prepare vulnerable systems;
• New ideas related to solar geoengineering: Excluding proposals designed to alter Earth’s surface temperature by affecting planetary albedo, incoming solar radiation, or atmospheric emissivity.

The following topics are out of scope:

• Ideas that squarely fit within the Exploring Climate Cooling programme.
• Emissions reduction projects and improvements to the energy efficiency of buildings or vehicles.
• Commercial products or research that would likely be funded by traditional venture capital or grants

Eligibility

Applicants may be individuals (including those not affiliated with an organisation), universities (including proposals from students, postdocs and staff), research institutions, small, medium and large companies, charities and public sector research organisations.

The primary focus of ARIA will be on funding those who are based in the UK or those willing to conduct the majority (> 50%) of the project from the UK. In exceptional circumstances, funding can be awarded outside the UK if we believe the proposed project can significantly benefit the UK.

Funding

Between £10,000 and £500,000 per project.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via the ARIA application portal. ARIA designed a short and straightforward application that won’t take no more than two-to-three hours to complete.  

Supporting material

Clarification questions must be submitted via the chat function on the call page no later than 27 July 2026.

All the supporting documents are available here.

Please keep in mind that if you are considering applying, you must follow these guidelines. Get in touch with us (cesam-gesciencia@ua.pt) and we can provide you with specific support.