Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation has just opened its annual application cycle in which the Foundation seeks to find effective solutions to curbing climate change. When considering the applications, the Foundation will take into account the effectiveness evaluation carried out and the schedule of the realisation of the environmental effects of the projects.
Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation, established in January 2014, is a non-profit organisation that seeks to contribute to social well-being, culture, environment and science and to promote and support research and education in these fields. The majority of the grants awarded during the five-year existence of the Foundation have been granted through the thematic application cycles under the theme of climate change, and this spring will see the policy continued.
The application cycle for the grants opened today, on January 15, under the theme of Urgent Action on Climate Change. In this application cycle, the Foundation calls for projects that seek to attain fast results in curbing climate change and one of the requirements for the entries it that the project carries out an effectiveness evaluation. Climate change is a battle fought on several fronts and with a wide array of measures: and while we realise that it is easier to carry out an effectiveness evaluation for some projects than others, a thorough and objective-oriented effectiveness evaluations is a useful part of any initiative.
Concrete, immediate results are urgently needed. The projects funded through this application cycle must be directly connected to curbing climate change and it is a requirement that a thorough account is given of the emission cuts or other environmental effects.
The application cycle will close at 5 p.m. (Finnish time) on 31 January 2019. The applications must be submitted using the online grant system of the Foundation. You can read the application instructions here. We at the Foundation are eagerly looking forward to receiving the new application entries for research projects and other types of efficient environmental action.
So, what kind of examples of efficient, topical measures on curbing climate change can be given? Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation posed this question to the top experts in the field in December. Here are three selected views on efficient environmental measures. The respondents all work in expert positions in research centres or projects focusing on climate change or in environmental organisations. The published responses do not impose any restrictions on the entries to be submitted in this application cycle; they represent a small sample of objects that are eligible for funding from the Foundation.
“If the decision-making process is not ready to take advantage of research data, then the possibilities for research to make a difference are extremely restricted. Maybe the funding should be directed toward bridging communication between decision-makers, business and researchers.”
“A direct effect on climate change: funding renewable energy, electric traffic charging infrastructure and carbon sinks. Indirect effects [on climate change]: Emission-free traffic and the renewable energy solutions in the development phase (wave power, marine wind power), and the development of low-emission solutions for plastic, steel and cement, pilot projects on carbon sinks and the storing carbon soil.”
“Climate-friendly everyday life should be made a mainstream trend. Now it is something people in an isolated bubble and in the margin do, but it should become the new normal.”