This action is intended as a preparatory step towards future joint collaborative activities between the EU and the AU, and their respective Member States to support the implementation of the “Climate Action for adaptation and mitigation” Pillar of the CCSE partnership. This pillar encompasses 1) climate-related data, 2) climate services, 3) and an integrated knowledge approach to support AU countries in their efforts to implement the Paris Agreement. These priorities should be used to frame the activities of the project. The action should establish a joint strategy for improving the availability and accelerating the uptake of advanced climate knowledge, data, and products across Africa. The aim is to enhance climate literacy, to develop and increase uptake of climate services and early-warning systems, and to support capacity building while taking into consideration the continent’s socio-economic circumstances and user needs. It is expected to address all of the following aspects:

• Develop a joint roadmap identifying priorities, flagship actions and feasible implementation architecture (including most appropriate financing instruments, not limited to EU level) to pave the way towards more targeted EU-AU cooperation on climate change research, with particular focus on climate risk reduction and resilience building (to be delivered within the first year of the project);
• Mobilise and secure commitments from European and African national funding entities and other actors (e.g., philanthropies, international cooperation entities and financial institutions) necessary to implement joint EU-AU collaborative activities, including a potential Horizon Europe co-fund action in 2026-2027 work programme (ideally within the first year of the project);
• Map the relevant EU funded projects (such as CONFER, FOCUS-Africa, DOWN2EARTH, ALBATROSS, SAFE4ALL, HABITABLE, TEMBO-Africa, SINCERE), match their outputs with the objectives of the CCSE Partnership, and cluster them to establish a vibrant community. Develop and implement a strategy to consolidate, curate, valorise and disseminate the projects’ outputs towards African and European stakeholders to amplify their impact. This should include a user-friendly approach (ideally integrated into and complementing existing mechanisms/repositories) for sharing best practises and lessons learnt from past and ongoing EU-funded projects, and with links to internationally and nationally funded activities, to provide visibility and enable scaling and replication of successful initiatives. In addition, the action should also investigate how Europe could best learn from Africa and how to valorise, disseminate knowledge and implement solutions from the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, other relevant EU Missions and other initiatives (like the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean region, PRIMA) that are of relevance to the African context;
• Design and start implementing training and capacity building strategy that should enable: i) effective climate action planning and management, ii) enhanced representation and diversity of African science and scientists in international fora, iii) upscaled generation of policy relevant knowledge, data, products and services, on climate change, and iv) a greater participation of women, youth, indigenous and marginalised communities.

The action should bring together core European and African funding agencies (and define a credible pathway for mobilising additional funders), research organisations and other key African entities such as regional and national climate service centres. Strong representation of African partners in the consortium is a core requirement (see eligibility conditions). In addition, the action should strive at better connecting scientists, policy makers, practitioners, and local communities for integrated solutions, at mobilising private sector engagement and at promoting the uptake of indigenous knowledge and Citizen Science. Efforts should be made to ensure that the data produced in the context of this topic is managed according to the FAIR principles.

The action should build on and aim at improving the coordination between existing and forthcoming multilateral and bilateral initiatives, such as the Climate Services for Risk Reduction in Africa (CS4RRA), the ClimSA programme, as well as projects funded by the EU (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe) and the JPI-Climate (ERA4CS). Synergies should also be sought, where possible, with relevant activities of the World Climate Research Programme, the World Adaptation Science Programme, the World Meteorological Organisation, the Group on Earth Observations, or the Copernicus programme. It is advisable that the action integrates the lessons learnt from the implementation of the energy pillar of the CCSE Partnership.