Ideas competition launched with a volume of EUR 280 million

With the 2022 Thematic Call, the International Climate Initiative (IKI) is looking for ideas for large-scale projects in developing and emerging countries all over the world. 

For this purpose, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the Federal Foreign Office (FFO). provide a total of EUR 280 million. Through the Thematic Calls, the IKI supports its partner countries in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to strengthen biodiversity conservation.

With this ideas competition, the ministries are bundling their competences and are, for the first time, jointly searching for ambitious and innovative project ideas. The amount of funding for each project is between EUR 10 million and EUR 20 million. 

Innovative projects wanted

The three ministries have launched the current IKI Ideas Competition to identify innovative and future-oriented projects for a total of twelve key topics. This year’s focus is on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy and agriculture sectors, the sustainable and climate-relevant conservation of biodiversity as well as resilience and adaptation.

For instance, projects are sought that contribute to promoting the expansion of photovoltaic systems on agricultural land, to offering solutions for the climate-friendly future use and re-utilisation of former power plant locations, to strengthening the resilience of Pacific Island states to climate-related loss and damage, or to generating effective biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation by funding sustainable public incentive systems.

The selection procedure: Ideas competition as first step towards funding 

For project selection, project outlines in English can be submitted via the IKI online platform until 21 February 2023 (23:59, CET).

An ideas competition is staged prior to funding or commissioning as part of the IKI thematic call.

Participation in the ideas competition is open to potential German and international grant recipients as well as to potential contractors in the form of implementing organisations of the German federal government. Apart from non-governmental organisations, universities and research institutions, as well as international intergovernmental organisations (such as development banks), UN organisations and programmes and commercial companies can also submit project outlines. 

Thematic Call 2022