About EUKI

Funding Programme for Climate Action Projects in Europe

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) launched the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) in 2017 in order to improve cooperation on climate action in Europe. The EU’s joint nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement had created the framework for more collaboration on climate policy in the European Union.

The EU has set itself ambitious targets: to become climate neutral by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. With the European Green Deal, the EU has created a long-term strategy for achieving these targets. Fit for 55 and REPowerEU provide roadmaps for the transition to a climate-neutral society and a more sustainable energy system.  

We support organisations in EU member states and candidate countries in the Western Balkans in putting these plans into practice. 

Call for Climate Action Project Ideas

The EUKI finances the best climate projects on six topics.

• Climate-Neutral Mobility
• Climate Policy
• Carbon Removals and Sinks
• Energy Transition and Climate-Neutral Buildings
• Just Transition
• Sustainable Economy

The EUKI projects, which are selected through a yearly call for project ideas, contribute to the expansion of renewable energy, improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. They strengthen technological advances and political dialogue, social justice in climate action as well as climate education and sustainable economy. Since 2017, 440 organisations from 31 European countries have collaborated in 210 EUKI-funded projects.

Become part of the EUKI Community with your climate project and apply with a project outline for our next call for project ideas.

Project Funding

The EUKI Community – Networking and Knowledge Sharing

Over the years, the EUKI has built a trusted network of climate professionals in local and national governments, civil society and the education sector – this is the EUKI Community. The EUKI project members exchange technical information, build on each other’s work and learn from one another, whereby they get supported by the EUKI Academy. Solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Poland, for example, also have a good chance of advancing climate action in Greece, Hungary or the Baltic States. The EUKI Community is a good place to find experts and partners for your own climate project.

On our media page, you can find publications and the latest news about the projects.

The EUKI Academy – Learning from and with each other

The EUKI Academy is an important part of our work. Its programme strengthens collaboration and knowledge transfer across projects – which, in turn, contributes to climate action in the target countries. Many of the events and learning offerings – whether online or face-to-face – are also aimed at people from all over Europe who are interested in climate action and want to get involved.

Find out about upcoming events on this page or watch short videos on climate topics – our EUKI Shorts – on our climate learning platform.

Team and Contact

The EUKI is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and has been implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) since 2017. On this page, you find the EUKI team of GIZ and contacts for your requests.