Research into Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Receives a Multimillion Boost

The National Research Foundation (NRF) welcomes the announcement of a $92 million investment into the International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. The Canada Research Coordinating Committee, which leads this global joint initiative that funds interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral research on key risks of climate change, made the announcement in Ottawa, Canada, on Monday, 03 June 2024.

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee is part of a consortium of research funders with which the NRF is working under the International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. The other research funders are from Brazil, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In its role as a participating research funder in the initiative, the NRF funds four South African research projects. Two other local projects under the initiative are funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), which supports world-leading interdisciplinary, international, high-risk/high-reward, transformative and rapid-response Canadian-led research.

The local research projects are part of the international joint initiative’s 32 international interdisciplinary research projects, involving 424 researchers from 45 countries. These three-year projects focus on the design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups. These groups are currently the most impacted by climate change effects, due to their physical and socio-economic vulnerability. The research funders contributed a total of more than $30 million in additional funds to the research projects.

Says NRF CEO, Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, “The financial boost to the International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation comes at an opportune time. Research projects under the initiative are starting to take shape. These include those that are funded by the NRF, which has made significant investments in the initiative. The funding will propel these research projects to greater heights.”

In addition to the investment, the Canada Research Coordinating Committee also announced the NFRF Exploration Competition grantees. Each year, the NFRF Exploration Competition supports research that brings various disciplines together in new ways and from bold, innovative perspectives. Exploration grants support research with a range of impacts—economic, scientific, artistic, cultural, social, technological, environmental or health-related. This year, $33 million was awarded to 133 research projects that focus on topics such as the exploration of the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere and the cosmos from a high-Arctic perspective; transforming AI software concepts into smart mechanical systems; and using liquid biopsies to better detect breast cancer.

Quotes from the announcement in Canada

“Science and research are essential to combating climate change, one of the most significant threats to the future well-being and prosperity of our planet. The investments announced today help bring world-leading researchers together to work on innovative research projects that could have significant impacts. By bringing disciplines together in unexpected ways, we are responding to the challenges Canada and the world are facing.”

– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Climate change and its various economic and social impacts are observed globally. By supporting game-changing interdisciplinary research and fostering international collaboration for innovative projects, our government is committed to finding innovative solutions that could have a significant impact on some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.”

– The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of National Revenue

“Supported by Government of Canada investments, these research teams are solidifying Canada’s position as a leader in collaborative, interdisciplinary research that addresses global priority areas. The NFRF grants also show the Canada Research Coordinating Committee’s commitment to keeping our research at the forefront of the international research ecosystem.”

– Alejandro Adem,
Chair, Canada Research Coordinating Committee;
and President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Quick facts

• The International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation requires that projects address at least two of the eight representative key risks identified in the Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report highlights the unprecedented changes in Earth’s climate that are being observed in every region, impacting all ecosystems and societies, and that will continue to intensify with further warming.
• The NFRF Exploration stream supports projects that bring disciplines together to reach beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches by research teams. Researchers are encouraged to undertake research that would defy current paradigms; bring disciplines together in unexpected ways and from bold, innovative perspectives; and have the potential to be disruptive or deliver game-changing impacts.
• NFRF supports world-leading interdisciplinary, international, high-risk/high-reward, transformative and rapid-response Canadian-led research.
• The NFRF program is under the strategic direction of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee, a body designed to advance priorities and coordinate policies and programs of Canada’s research funding agencies and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. NFRF is managed by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat, which is housed at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), on behalf of Canada’s three federal research funding agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and SSHRC.

Associated links

• Award Recipients: 2023 International Joint Initiative
• Award Recipients: 2023 Exploration competition
• New Frontiers in Research Fund
• Canada Research Coordinating Committee

South Africa and Canada Contacts

Bongani Nkosi
Media Relations Officer
NRF Corporate Communications
Email: b.nkosi@nrf.ac.za / Cell: 061 477 306

Audrey Milette

Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Audrey.Milette@ised-isde.gc.ca

Media relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
media@ised-isde.gc.ca

Media relations
New Frontiers in Research Fund
NFRF-FNFRCommsMedia@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca