How much funding does Keeling Curve Prize provide?

Keeling Curve Prize provides $25,000 per project in funding.

When is the deadline for Keeling Curve Prize?

The funder has not published a deadline for this grant.

Who is eligible for Keeling Curve Prize?

Eligible applicants: Cities, towns, and counties.

How often is Keeling Curve Prize offered?

Keeling Curve Prize runs on an annual cycle.

Keeling Curve Prize

Iclei - Local Governments for Sustainability USA Inc

Foundation Annual Environmental Grants

Funding Amount

$25,000 per project

Deadline

Deadline not published

Grant Type

Foundation

Deadline history & next window

Cycle: Annual
Tracked since: April 2026

Source: the cycle recorded on this listing. Confirm dates with the funder.

Can we apply?

Check your organization against each line. Taken from the listing; confirm with the funder's guidelines.

Eligible organizations

Cities, towns, and counties

Other requirements

ICLEI members tackling climate change
Projects can be from any continent

Overview

Overview:
The Keeling Curve Prize awards $25,000 annually to each of 10 projects (2 in each of 5 categories) designed to reduce heat-trapping emissions or increase carbon uptake. The prize is named after scientist Charles David Keeling's iconic graph of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

Geographic Scope: International (projects from multiple continents eligible)

Focus Areas:
The 2020 Keeling Curve Prize awards in five categories:

Transport & Mobility: From charging stations to freight logistics, supporting high-impact improvements from personal to industry-level applications
Energy: Promoting low-cost and reliable energy to replace and discourage continued fossil fuel use
Social & Cultural Pathways: Cultural attitude change toward global warming; identifying leaders and solutions
Capture & Utilization: Direct sequestration and carbon markets to reforestation; projects that capture carbon and use it as a marketable product
Finance: Increasing and improving the flow of funding across climate solutions avenues

Eligibility:

ICLEI members tackling climate change
Cities, towns, and counties
Projects can be from any continent

Selection Process:
Finalists and winners chosen by panel of esteemed climate scientists, public policy experts, and researchers, including:

Achala Abeysinghe, Ph.D., International Institute for Environment and Development
Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Ph.D., Union of Concerned Scientists
Lucas Joppa, Ph.D., Microsoft
George Polk, Tulum Trust
Jonathan Silver, Tax Equity Advisors, LLC

Timeline:

Application period closes February 10 or when 300 applications received (whichever comes first)
Finalists named in spring
Winners announced in summer

Past Winners: 2018 and 2019 winners came from four continents with varied approaches to reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

How to Apply

Application Process

Application deadline: February 10 or when 300 applications are received — whichever comes first

Submit through Keeling Curve Prize application portal (specific URL not provided in source material).

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What Iclei - Local Governments for Sustainability USA Inc actually gave

Source: IRS Form 990, 2024

Grants in 2024: 3
Total given: $1.15M
Median grant: $500K
Range: $150K–$500K

By dollars: California 43%, Colorado 43%, New York 13%. Top recipient cities: Oakland, CA; Denver, CO; New York, NY.

Example grants

East Bay Silicon Valley Habitat · Oakland, CA

Sub recipient of a google fund award

$500K
Energy Outreach Colorado · Denver, CO

Sub recipient of a google fund award

$500K
Resilient Cities Catalyst · New York, NY

Sub recipient of grant funds

$150K