Funding for African researchers who are focused on climate change, has been made available through a collaboration between South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and an international grouping, the Belmont Forum. The NRF is South Africa’s research funding, support, enabling and promotion agency, while the Belmont Forum is a partnership of research funding agencies from 26 countries (including all the major economies) and two international organisations (the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research and the European Union).

South Africa, via the NRF, is one of the members of the Belmont Forum. The other African members are Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya. The forum is focused on research regarding global environmental change, and the funding for African climate change researchers will be disbursed through its Collaborative Research Action initiative.

This Africa-directed research funding initiative was developed under the leadership of the NRF. It is intended to support the achievement of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, specifically its climate, environment and sustainability priority areas and goals. It will do so by filling gaps in knowledge concerning climate change vulnerability across the continent, and about how to address these vulnerabilities.

There are three themes that are covered in this funding call. They are the water, energy, food, health nexus; pollution; and, disaster preparedness, responsiveness and recovery.

“Successful proposals must address and deliver on at least one of the three themes identified above, with cross-cutting linkages across multiple areas and the integration of blue and green economies, education, and awareness encouraged,” explained the NRF. “Given the complexity and scope of these challenges, research consortia applying for funding must be transdisciplinary and must include researchers from social sciences, natural sciences, and societal partners. It must also be transnational; in that it must include researchers from at least three countries.”