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Keeling Curve Prize

Iclei - Local Governments for

Foundation Annual Environmental Grants

Funding Amount

$25,000 per project

Deadline

Rolling / Open

Grant Type

foundation

Overview

Keeling Curve Prize

Award Amount: $25,000 per project

Recurrence: Annual

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).

    Apply with Grantable Learn more

    What Iclei - Local Governments for actually gave

    Source: IRS Form 990-PF, 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

    IRS Form 990-PF, 2024. Amounts as reported by the funder. Full 990 history →

    Focus Areas & Funding Uses

    Fields of Work

    environment

    Categories

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