In support of the European Green Deal, the EU Adaptation Strategy, the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the EU Disaster Resilience Goals, project results are expected to improve adaptative capacities of European regional and local authorities to extreme heat and reduce the impacts on human health and well-being.
Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
Scope:
Rationale
With more frequent and intense heatwaves, extreme heat is the deadliest manifestation of climate change in Europe. It is estimated that, in the summer of 2022, heat was responsible for 60,000-70,000 premature deaths in Europe.
In fact, the European Climate Risk Assessment identifies heat as the largest and most urgent climate hazard for human health. Heat risks to the general population are already at critical levels in Southern Europe. More and urgent action is needed to reduce health risks, both from heat indoors and outdoors.
Extreme heat does not strike all the locations and all the population groups in the same way. For instance, Southern and Western-Central Europe and urban areas are more exposed to heatwaves. Areas away from the sea are also more exposed, as they are lacking any mitigation effect from the water. Similarly, extreme heat does not affect all groups in a specific location equally and this needs to be considered in the adaptation policies. Extreme heat is especially impacting the most vulnerable people due to a range of socio-economic and physiological factors, such as income (less capacity to invest in heat mitigating solutions), social exclusion, gender, age, disability, health conditions. As many vulnerable people spend a large part of their time indoors, ensuring heat resistant housing becomes of even more critical importance.
The goal of this topic is to accelerate the implementation of solutions that increase resilience to extreme heat and protect the health and well-being of the citizens, particularly in the built environment.
Solutions sought
Proposals should test and demonstrate effective solutions against the effects of extreme heat in the territories of regional / local authorities by addressing all of the following areas:
Associated challenges, such as institutional and political bottlenecks, multi-level governance challenges, and the politics and justice dimensions of implementing innovative solutions all fall within the remit of this topic. As a result, 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.
For the successful implementation of the solutions and to ensure their sustainability beyond the duration of the project, the development and testing of the proposed solutions should be embedded, as much as possible in the adaptation planning of the regional or local authority participating in the project and/or in national plans.
Demonstration sites and related activities
The Mission encourages collaborations between regional and local authorities facing similar challenges and considers this to be a very efficient approach to secure a large impact. Therefore, the demonstration activities of the proposals:
Links to the Mission and to other projects and initiatives
Proposals should build (when relevant) on existing knowledge and adaptation solutions developed by previous projects and explore synergies with ongoing projects funded by EU and national programmes. The most relevant EU programmes and initiatives include Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe[1], Interreg, LIFE programmes, the EU Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, Copernicus, Destination Earth and the New European Bauhaus.
Synergies with other funding sources (EU and national) should be sought, to support common approach towards climate adaptation, carbon neutrality, sustainability, transfer of knowledge and innovative solutions. This will also allow to identify opportunities to scale up the solutions demonstrated and to foster their broad deployment across Europe through other programmes such as the LIFE programme, and its integrated projects in particular, the Social Climate Fund, the European Regional Development Fund or the Just Transition Fund.
Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links and collaboration with the Mission Implementation Platform[2] , and other relevant knowledge platforms such as Climate-ADAPT ,the European Climate and Health Observatory and the Copernicus Health Hub. Projects funded under this topic will get direct access and will be expected to participate in the exchanges of the Mission Community of Practice, to the networking activities supported by the Mission Implementation Platform, and to share relevant knowledge to feed the work of the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2024-CLIMA-01-01. These networking and joint activities could, for example, involve the participation in joint workshops, the exchange of knowledge, the development and adoption of best practices, or joint communication activities.
In addition, projects will be requested to feed their results and contribute to the monitoring in place under the leadership of the Mission Implementation Platform on the progress towards the objectives of the Mission and provide information and data to contribute to the visualisation of the Mission progress in Europe. To that end, proposals are encouraged to (dedicate resources to) link up their monitoring to the framework developed by the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2024-CLIMA-01-03.
Applicants should acknowledge these requests and already account for them in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission.
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 .
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.
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 .
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 .
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 .
Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships emphasize researcher mobility, interdisciplinary training, and developing future talent .
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 .
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. |
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.
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.
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
Demonstration activities must take place in the territory of at least 3 different regional or local authorities, each established in a different Member States or Associated Country.
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]].
Sponsor Institute/Organizations: european commission
Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit
Address: 1049 Bruxelles / Brussel Belgium Phone: +32 2 299 11 11
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Sep 24, 2025
Sep 24, 2025
$11,476,950
Affiliation: european commission
Address: 1049 Bruxelles / Brussel Belgium Phone: +32 2 299 11 11
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