Improving capabilities of law enforcement to counter climate-related challenges
Research to equip European police authorities with skills and technology to counter climate change-related crimes and challenges.
This call funds projects to help police tackle crimes linked to climate change, such as illegal resource exploitation and trafficking. It aims to improve understanding of climate impacts on law enforcement and public order. Projects should involve police authorities from multiple EU countries and integrate social sciences expertise.
Likely relevant for
- Police authorities
- Law enforcement agencies
- Security researchers
- Social sciences researchers
- Climate change policy experts
Project signals
What it funds
- Research and innovation actions addressing climate change impacts on law enforcement
- Development of specialized skills, technologies, and training for police
- Analysis of new criminal patterns linked to climate change
- Integration of social sciences and humanities to understand societal impacts
- Collaboration with Europol Innovation Lab and CEPOL for validation and training
Expected outcomes
- Enhanced capabilities of police to counter climate-related illegal activities
- Improved policymaker understanding of climate impacts on law enforcement
- Better knowledge of social dynamics affecting public order due to climate change
Who can apply / participate
- Police Authorities
- Security practitioners such as civil security services, Border Guard, Customs Authorities
- Research organizations including Social Sciences and Humanities experts
- Mandatory participation of at least 2 Police Authorities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Participants must be from EU Member States or Associated Countries
- Police Authorities defined as public authorities legally mandated for crime prevention, detection, or investigation
- Police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities, border and customs authorities excluded from Police Authorities definition but may participate as other security practitioners
- Specific eligibility of non-police security practitioners
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of Police Authorities as defined by national law
- Consortium must include at least 2 Police Authorities from different EU or Associated countries
- Use of Copernicus/Galileo data if satellite data involved
Money
Expected EU contribution around 8 million EUR for this Research and Innovation Action.
- Maximum EU contribution — 4000000EURPer grant, expected 2 grants available.
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per Horizon Europe General Annexes.
- Mandatory table on security practitioners information must be completed.
- Use of Copernicus and/or Galileo data mandatory if satellite data used.
- Prepare proposal with mandatory Police Authorities participation.
- Complete application form including security practitioners table.
- Submit proposal by deadline 5 November 2026.
- Projects may involve classified or security sensitive information.
- Coordination among funded projects encouraged to avoid duplication.
- Cooperation with Europol Innovation Lab and CEPOL expected.
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 2 Jul 2026, 09:16 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Related calls
These funding calls are closely related and may be worth considering as part of the same funding landscape.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Police Authorities in Europe are equipped with specialised skills and technologies to counter an increase in illegal activities related to the climate change and the emergence of new (opportunistic) criminal patterns; Improved understanding by policymakers of the effects of climate change on law enforcement with a view of developing related effective European policies; improved knowledge of the impacts of climate change phenomena on social dynamics which can raise demands from public authorities to keep public order, moving beyond traditional perspectives about crime and terrorism. Scope: Global climate change is a megatrend expected to affect our societies over the next decade. As stated in “Germany: National interdisciplinary climate risk assessment” [1] , “We are already living in the climate crisis. This brings substantial security risks at global and national levels. (...) Anyone thinking about security needs to think about climate as well”. Climate change will affect European law enforcement in various ways [2] , [3] . Notably, it is likely to create new opportunities and resources for organised crime, challenging current security frameworks. One of the expected outcomes of climate change will be the emergence of scarcity markets. Links between resource scarcity propelled by climate change and the crime opportunities for organised crime groups need to be further analysed. Criminal networks will aim to dominate the scarcity markets, increasing their role in the distribution of essential goods and services such as food and water. In addition, criminal networks will facilitate the movement of migrants, including women and children, escaping conflict and the effects of climate change; increased flux of migration due to extreme weather conditions may raise opportunities for human trafficking and exploitation. Furthermore, the decline in biodiversity will translate into more animal species under threat of extinction targeted by wildlife traffickers. In this landscape, the adoption of new technologies will bolster criminal organizations of various kinds. Examples of such crimes, illegal activities, threats and harms connected to climate change include: environmental crimes contributing to climate change (illegal mining and extraction, illegal use of underwater sources and streams, illegal deforestation, illegal waste management), wildlife trafficking and poaching, fraud and financial crimes (greenwashing, carbon credit fraud, misuse of climate funds), exploiting climate change-related disasters (water theft, looting after disasters, land grabbing), or social tensions (new forms of radicalisation and terrorism, increased displacement and migration challenging public order and disproportionately affecting groups in a vulnerable situation). New approaches centred around crime and climate change, including crime activities’ association with and amplification by climate change, present unique challenges that require thorough investigation and analysis. Recognizing these emerging trends is vital for formulating effective plans and policies, and equipping law enforcement with specialized skills, technology (including forensics) and training necessary to tackle these challenges in an increasingly volatile world. In this topic, apart from the mandatory participation of Police Authorities in the consortia, active involvement of other security practitioners, such as civil security services, Border Guard or Customs Authorities, is encouraged if relevant. Technological and societal angles should be addressed in a balanced way. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Proposals funded under this topic are expected to provide ideas on how they would engage with the Europol Innovation Lab during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes, with the aim of facilitating future uptake of innovations for the law enforcement community. For Police Authorities’ training-related aspects, cooperation of successful proposals with CEPOL is expected, provided that the Agency opts out from applying for funding. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination. This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities. Research in this area could be strengthened by considering the gender-specific dimensions of vulnerabilities and needs when relevant. Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. [1] https://metis.unibw.de/assets/pdf/National_Interdisciplinary_Climate_Risk_Assessment.pdf [2] A.Matczak, S.I. Bergh, A review of the (potential) implications of climate change for policing practice worldwide. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Vol. 17, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paad062 [3] P. Schwartzstein (2024), Climate Change & Crime: A big, bad, largely overlooked nexus. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/10/17/climate-change-crime-a-big-bad-largely-overlooked-nexus/
Conditions and documents
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 2 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] from at least 2 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Specific conditions
described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Some activities resulting from this topic may involve using classified background and/or producing of security sensitive results (EUCI and SEN). Please refer to the related provisions in section B Security — EU classified and sensitive information of the General Annexes.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Call-specific instructions
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 6. Civil Security for Society
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support information
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant. Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe. Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management. Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular. National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’). Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding. IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues. CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal. The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers. Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
Raw budget overview
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