Climate Response

Creating innovations that help tackle the climate crisis

About

The climate crisis is the biggest threat facing humanity.

Worldwide, huge political and economic resources are being put into mitigating the risks created by the planetary emergency. But progress is still too slow.

Challenging our climate crisis

For many around the world, the negative impacts are already plain to see, from resource scarcity and ecosystem collapse to land erosion, increased risk of conflict and migration, and hunger. And many of the most vulnerable communities aren’t getting the help they need.

Technology and innovation can play a key role in helping us navigate this uncertain future.

Human ingenuity – in the form of new technologies, ideas, businesses and services – can help us build resilient communities, reduce our exposure to extremes of heat or weather, and better survive natural disasters.

And it can help us tread lighter, mitigating climate change through bringing down greenhouse gas emissions, generating clean energy, cutting waste or producing food sustainably.

Talk to us about the climate crisis challenges you want to see solved and discuss how together we can develop bold prizes that incentivise innovators to address the most urgent national and international problems.

Contact the Climate Response team

Thought leadership in Climate Response

Empowering people to shape city futures with a challenge-led approach

Thought Leadership

Scaling marine plastic solutions through human-centred design innovation

Thought Leadership

Our latest report: Climate Possible

The choices we make in the next decade will determine our future

We set out a series of challenge prize concepts to explore the possibilities of how challenge-based, outcome-driven funding can contribute to a more climate-resilient future.

Read the report here

Climate Possible: How funders can accelerate innovation for a resilient future

Children carrying water by hand and on bicycle along a dry and dusty road

Examples of scope

Homegrown Innovation Challenge

A $33-million prize which aims to identify teams and support the development of tools and technologies that enable Canadian farmers and producers to sustainably and competitively grow berries out of season.

More about the Homegrown Innovation Challenge

Dynamic Demand Challenge

The Dynamic Demand Challenge aimed to stimulate new products, technologies or services using data to achieve reduced carbon emissions by shifting energy demand to off peak times.

More about the Dynamic Demand Challenge

Climate Smart Cities

Harnessing the creativity and energy of innovators to work with cities to help achieve global net zero, and create a better future for all.

More about the Climate Smart Cities Challenge

Our Challenge Prizes

Our Current
Challenge Prizes

Our New
Prize Ideas

Our Broader
Programmes

From our partners

Challenge Works have been an excellent challenge partner in the delivery of the competition phase of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge.

They planned and delivered processes for selecting cities and innovators, coordinated the innovator selection process and led communications and outreach activities.

We look forward to continuing to working with them in future innovation challenges.

Pontus Westerberg, Programme Management Officer, UN-Habitat