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Fostering equity and justice in climate policies – Societal Readiness Pilot
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Climate policies are made more inclusive and equitable, facilitating acceptance across political and societal stakeholders with various socio-economic and development status, both within the EU and globally, enabling high ambition climate action and helping to deliver on the European Green Deal’s commitment to “leave no one behind”;
- There is an improved consensus between the Global North and the Global South within the UNFCCC process, unlocking a greater momentum in the implementation of the Paris Agreement;
- The evidence base underpinning IPCC assessments is strengthened, diversified, and made more inclusive, facilitating consensus and government approval processes;
- Social science perspectives on justice and equity are better incorporated into policy narratives, scenarios, and models, improving their societal relevance and ensuring that climate action strategies are more reflective of the needs, values and concerns of diverse societal groups, building trust in results and outcomes, and increasing their uptake potential.
Scope:
Climate change and the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient future raises complex justice questions around equitable sharing of benefits and burdens of mitigation and adaptation efforts. These considerations not only animate global climate negotiations, but also increasingly emerge as a central issue for national politics, legal systems and for the society at large. Fairness thus becomes both a critical enabler and a potential barrier for shaping ambitious climate action, underscoring the need for prioritising research on advancing just climate transitions within the EU and globally.
For example, mitigation scenarios that have informed and influenced global climate policymaking and target-setting, and form a vital component of IPCC assessments, have been criticised for not considering fairness more explicitly and systematically, creating a barrier to their acceptance as a basis for global mitigation efforts. On the other hand, to avoid exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and locking into maladaptive pathways, it is also necessary to better account for the justice dimension in adaptation planning and implementation.
Actions should advance more comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of climate justice in the context of the European and global mitigation and adaptation policies, promoting awareness, consistency and co-production approaches. They should take into consideration socio-economic, territorial and development disparities that exist between and within countries, regions and across various segments of the population. Actions should address multiple dimensions of justice, diverse spatial and temporal scales (e.g., intergenerational justice), and explore the role of a broad range of social, political, economic, and cultural contexts and factors. These include both collective (such as values, power structures, institutional and legal frameworks, political economy, development models, climate elites) and individual (such as age, gender, and intersectionality) features. Building on the resulting insights, actions are expected to develop recommendations on how to design, implement and evaluate just climate transitions, including definition of specific indicators, standards, and criteria to better operationalise the justice concept in adaptation and mitigation pathways. Among others, actions should address some of the following aspects [1]:
- Improve integrated assessment models to better represent justice and equity, differences in regional outcomes, and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities;
- Enhance clarity, comparability, and transparency across global mitigation scenarios with regard to different justice aspects. Evaluate the feasibility and consistency of regionally differentiated long-term mitigation goals in terms of, for example, investments and financial flows, governance and institutional needs;
- Analyse distributional aspects of climate policies, assess consequences for well-being and living standards of people from different socio-economic and development contexts. Advance research to assess the needs of and the effects on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged population segments (e.g., elderly, children, women, migrants, minorities, households at risk from energy and/or transport poverty) and sectors, and provide recommendations for corrective measures;
- Assess the trade-offs and co-benefits between climate action and inequality reduction. Explore the role of inequality and injustice as constraints to individual and collective climate action;
- Investigate innovative climate policy instruments, initiatives and approaches alternative to those prioritising economic efficiency and propose a broader spectrum of climate policies with more attention to equity. Assess their feasibility;
- Investigate justice in the context of sectorial transitions, with focus on under-researched (from justice perspective) sectors such as agriculture, forestry and land use;
- Advance research on how to better account for the needs and constraints of communities representing diversity of vulnerability profiles in disaster risk reduction and adaptation strategies.
Actions should address justice and equity of climate policies both within the EU and from a global perspective, but they may choose to prioritise one of these dimensions, using the other as framing information.
The research should be conducted through close collaboration between research teams from Europe and low or middle-income countries, hence international cooperation is required (see eligibility conditions). Moreover, involvement of key stakeholders and regional experts as part of an inclusive process is essential to guarantee that all relevant perspectives are adequately represented. The involvement of civil society is also highly recommended.
All projects funded under this topic are strongly encouraged to connect, coordinate, and participate in networking, intercomparison and joint activities, to exploit synergies and maximise complementarities. They should also envisage clustering activities with other relevant projects (in[2] and outside of Horizon Europe) for cross-projects cooperation and exchange of results. Proposals should earmark the necessary resources for these purposes.
This topic is a Societal-Readiness pilot:
- Proposals should follow the instructions applying to the Societal readiness pilot, as described in the introduction of the Horizon Europe Main Work Programme 2025 for Climate, Energy and Mobility. They entail the use of an interdisciplinary approach to deepening consideration and responsiveness of research and innovation activities to societal needs and concerns.
- This topic requires effective contribution of the relevant SSH expertise, including the involvement of SSH experts in the consortium, to meaningfully support Societal Readiness. Specifically, SSH expertise is expected to enable the design of project objectives with Societal Readiness related activities. Consortia should mobilise a variety of SSH research backgrounds, in particular equity, poverty, and gender experts.
AI Based Application Success Predictor
🧪 1. Scientific Excellence Is Paramount
For ERC grants, excellence is the sole selection criterion—evaluations focus exclusively on the quality of the research and track record .
Peer-reviewers adhere strictly to predefined criteria (e.g., Horizon ITN evaluations), and weaknesses—rather than strengths—often decide the outcome .
🌍 2. Strategic Alignment with EU Priorities
Horizon Europe emphasizes Green & Digital Transitions and resilience, with specific budget steering across biodiversity, climate, digital, and societal missions .
Proposals that clearly align with these strategic orientations and EU missions are significantly more competitive.
🤝 3. Strong, Diverse European Consortia
Horizon projects demand well-balanced consortia across Europe—geographically and disciplinarily diverse, including academia, industry, SMEs, NGOs .
Effective leadership, communication, trust, and active collaboration are key success factors.
🧴 4. Proven Research Infrastructure & Track Record
A strong publication record—especially in high-impact venues—and prior grant awards bolster chances .
ERC starting, consolidator, or advanced grants require exceptional citation records, strong proposals, and investigator track records .
📈 5. Robust Project Management
For large collaborative grants, project coordination, administration, and communication are just as crucial as scientific content .
Demonstrating realistic budget planning (100% direct costs + 25% indirect costs), administrative frameworks, and governance structures strengthens proposals .
💼 6. Fostering Mobility & Career Growth
Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships emphasize researcher mobility, interdisciplinary training, and developing future talent .
🧷 7. Geographical & Gender Equity
Northern and certain Eastern European institutions currently have higher success rates (≈22% vs below 18% in Southern Europe) .
ERC gender data: male and female applicants have similar success rates, though male applicants apply more frequently .
📌 Key Takeaways
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Excellence-first | Superior science and investigator record are non-negotiable. |
| Strategic fit | Alignment with EU green, digital, and mission goals is essential. |
| Consortium quality | Geographic, sectoral, and expertise balance enhances impact. |
| Management capacity | Good PM builds confidence in successful delivery. |
| Experience track record | Publications, previous funding, and citations build credibility. |
| Mobility & careers | MSCA focuses on researcher development and interdisciplinary collaboration. |
🧭 Applicant Tips
Master criteria & avoid weaknesses: Make sure your proposal addresses common reviewer pitfalls—methodology, innovation, budget clarity.
Map to EU priorities: Explicitly connect your objectives to Horizon Europe’s strategic plan (2025–2027).
Build strong consortia early: Prioritize complementary expertise, geography, gender balance, and partner roles.
Show robust project management: Include a Work Package structure, governance plans, and clear communication strategies.
Leverage your track record: Highlight high-impact papers, leadership in projects, and previous awards.
Consider MSCA opportunities: Use them for mobility grants or integrating training into your project.
✅ In Summary
To maximize success with European Commission grants—especially ERC or Horizon Europe—focus relentlessly on scientific excellence, strategic EU alignment, consortium strength, and solid project planning. Combine these with a strong publication record and researcher development elements, and aim to close off any potential reviewer concerns.
Specialties
Eligibility Requirements
General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. As per Work Programme provision on exceptional page limits to proposals/applications, the page limit of the application for this specific topic, is extended by two pages (from 50 to 52 pages) to properly address Societal Readiness-related issues.
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 consortium must include as beneficiary or associated partner at least three independent legal entities established in three different low or middle-income countries[[https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups; standard Horizon Europe funding rules apply - only participants from some of these countries are automatically eligible for funding]].
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
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
Sponsor Details
Sponsor Institute/Organizations: European Commission
Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit
Address: Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels
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Grant
Final Deadline:
Sep 24, 2025
Funding Amount:
$5,887,625
Host Details
Affiliation: European Commission
Address: Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels
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