The BNP Paribas Foundation supports research on climate change and biodiversity erosion, two of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. Its ambition is to improve the understanding of the interactions between climate and biodiversity and assess the effects of their disruption on our environment and human societies in order to allow all actors to adapt their behaviour.
Building on the success of the four previous editions, the BNP Paribas Foundation is launching a new call for projects for the 2023-2025 period.
With a budget of €6 million over three years, the programme will support six to nine laureate projects selected by a renowned Scientific Committee. The selection process has three stages:
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Applications: research teams submit their completed file between 10 February and 20 April 2022 inclusive, via the application platform.
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Assessment and short-listing: the BNP Paribas Foundation, along with Group employee volunteers and external assessors, produce a short-list of applications, between 27 April and 15 June 2022.
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Selection of projects: from June 17 to the end of December 2022, the short-listed applications are assessed by the Scientific Committee, which then submits the finalists to the BNP Paribas Foundation Executive Committee for selection of the winning projects.
More information on the call for projects
This rigorous selection process is overseen by a Scientific Committee composed of well-known figures from their field of research.
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Yunne Shin – Director of Research at IRD and Honorary Research Associate at University of Cape Town.
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Philippe Gillet – Geophysicist, geologist and professor, Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne.
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Philippe Cury – Senior scientist at IRD (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development).
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Jean-Pascal Van Ypersele – PhD in physics, climatologist, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he co-directs the environmental management master’s program. Member of the Earth and Climate Research Centre.
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Franck Courchamp – CNRS Research Director at the Systematic Ecology and Evolution Laboratory (ESE-CNRS/Université Paris-Sud), 2014 laureate of the “Climate & Biodiversity Initiative”.
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Jean-Pierre Gattuso – CNRS Research Director at the the Villefranche Oceanography Laboratory (CNRS/Sorbonne University/Iddri), 2010 laureate of the “Climate & Biodiversity Initiative”.
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Marie-Pierre Ledru – Director of Research at IRD, working at the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier, 2017 laureate of the “Climate & Biodiversity Initiative”.
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Lydie Lardy – Director of Research in Soil Ecology at IRD, 2017 laureate of the “Climate & Biodiversity Initiative.
“Having a true talent-spotting eye for high-profile research projects, the ‘Climate & Biodiversity Initiative’ programme aims to promote scientific excellence. By doing so, the BNP Paribas Foundation not only spreads understanding of those projects among an international community of researchers, but also helps make them more visible to decision makers and the public. This was notably the case for our eFOCE project, that aimed at measuring the impact of acidification of the Mediterranean Sea on a local plant present on coastlines, and which was set up following the first edition of the programme 12 years ago.”
Jean-Pierre Gattuso
CNRS Research Director at the Villefranche Oceanography Laboratory (CNRS/Sorbonne University/Iddri), 2010 laureate of the ‘Climate & Biodiversity Initiative’.
Selection criteria include
- Nature of the project: scientific research project (fundamental and/or applied) studying climate and biodiversity. Possible themes: climatology, physics, geology, oceanography, marine or terrestrial biology, glaciology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, volcanology, economics and social sciences.
- Project leader: general-interest organisation (non-profit, with disinterested management and not addressing a restricted circle of people), domiciled in a member state of the European Union, Iceland or Norway.
- Scientific interest of the project: the project degree of innovation, its potential for advancing knowledge of the subject concerned and interest in the topic among the international scientific community.
- Dissemination and promotion of the project: quality of the planned educational actions, the ease with which the project can be communicated to the general public for actions to raise awareness and popularise science.
The Climate & Biodiversity Initiative programme since 2010
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27 international research projects supported
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70% of projects (co-)led by a woman
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€18 M budget dedicated to the Climate & Biodiversity Initiative programme
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690,000 people made aware of the two biggest environmental issues of our time
Climate & Biodiversity Initiative: “understand better to act better”
Up to today, the programme has funded 27 international research projects – 70% of which are (co-)led by a woman – and raised awareness of various themes among nearly 690,000 people, including past climates, risks linked to invasive alien species, ocean acidification, melting permafrost, carbon sequestration in farmland in Africa, preservation of coral reefs, climate change adaptation mechanisms, transmission of pathogens between species, etc.
All the projects supported are presented on the BNP Paribas Foundation website and YouTube channel.
“The BNP Paribas Foundation is the only Foundation that supports research into climate change and the erosion of biodiversity. A consistent choice made by BNP Paribas Group’s environmental and social commitment policy over the long term. It is necessary to develop it to improve understanding on the interactions between climate and biodiversity, and to assess its effects on our environment and human societies. The BNP Paribas Foundation’s ‘Climate & Biodiversity Initiative’ programme also helps to support the ecological awakening observed during the health crisis through the discovery of the issues related to nature preservation.”Isabelle Giordano, Head of Group Philanthropy and General Delegate of the BNP Paribas Foundation.