Environment
Since 2010, the BNP Paribas Foundation has supported climate change research through its Climate Initiative program. The goal is to understand and anticipate the impact of climate change on our environment as well as local populations around the world.
Call
for projects
The purpose of this call for projects is to select 4-7 research projects that will help improve our understanding of issues relating to climate change. The projects will receive financial support from the BNP Paribas Foundation for a period of three years (2017-2019).
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Provisional calendar
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Late June
Preselected projects announced
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From 07/01 to 09/23
Submission of complete applications
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Early December
Selected projects announced
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Early 2017
Projects begin
Criteria for the call for projects
Climate Initiative: new projects
In 2014, the Foundation’s scientific committee selected five new research projects to receive funding through the Climate Initiative program. Our selection process involved a call for projects issued among the scientific community.
PREVENTING THE MASSIVE RELEASE OF CO2 HELD IN PERMAFROST
APT : Acceleration Of Permafrost Thaw By Snow-Vegetation Interactions
Climate change is starting to melt the portion of our planet’s soil that remains frozen year round. As a result, part of the carbon trapped in permafrost is transformed into CO2 and methane, a phenomenon that could release up to two times the amount of CO2 already contained in the atmosphere. The French-Canadian team working at the Takuvik laboratory will conduct a study over the course of several years to learn more about this process.
Illustration : Instrument deployment at Bylot Island (Canada), July 2013 © Florent Dominé (TAKUVIK, Université Laval/CNRS)
PROTECTING THE SOUTHERN OCEAN BY FURTHERING OUR UNDERSTANDING
SOCLIM : Southern Ocean and Climate
The Southern Ocean plays a key role in our planet’s climate. Occupying a central position among Earth’s waters, it cools nearly half the water volume on the planet by about 2°C.
The Microbial Oceanography Laboratory, the Villefrance Oceanography Laboratory and the Dynamic Meteorology Laboratory have teamed up to collect new data on this ocean. Participating scientists will share their discoveries online at monoceanetmoi.com.
Illustration : Péninsule antarctique - océan Austral © Edouard LEYMARIE (Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer / CNRS / cultureocean.com)
LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO IMPROVE CLIMATE CHANGE MODELS
CPATEMP : Continental Past Temperatures since the last glacial cycle and recently developed organic biomarkers
By studying the history of our climate, scientists intend to explore how the mechanisms of natural climate change, at times abrupt, may combine with climate irregularities tied to human activity.
The European Center for Research and Education in Environmental Geoscience (CEREGE) pursues this mission by improving our understanding of biomarkers present in sediment layers of large lakes.
Illustration : Vue de haut des opérations de carottage depuis la partie supérieure de la plateforme (lac Barumbi Mbo, Cameroun, Février 2014) © Yannick Garcin
PREVENTING A MASSIVE INSECT INVASION
INVACOST : Invasive Insects and their Cost Following Climate Change
Researchers know that certain organisms – both plants and animals – react to rising temperatures and change their behavior or usual habitats. A massive insect invasion will have far-reaching consequences. But what are the risks? To answer this question, the Université Paris Sud and the CNRS are studying twenty different insect species.
Illustration : Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique, Evolution (Université Paris-Sud/CNRS/AgroParisTech) © Yann Stofer (2015)
STUDYING GLOBAL WARMING OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS
FATES : Fast Climate Changes, New Tools to Understand and simulate The evolution of the Earth system
Human activity is altering the composition of our atmosphere and causing climate change. The FATES project aims to study the natural global warming process that took place at the end of the most recent glacial period (~20,000 to ~10,000 B.C.), which is associated with a rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases and sea levels.
Illustration : concrétion calcaire, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (CEA/CNRS/UVSQ) © Julien Magre (2015)
DISCOVER THE PROJECTBig Data & Climate
we support the online publication of the Global Carbon Atlas
Funding from the BNP Paribas Foundation allowed teams from the Global Carbon Project to set up an online platform enabling scientists from around the world to collaborate and share data on the carbon cycle.
The Global Carbon Atlas also includes a website where the general public can visualize, interpret and obtain the most recent measurements and data on global carbon flows.
Global Carbon Atlas
globalcarbonatlas.orgThis project is an online application created by scientists and research laboratories from around the world to publish all available data concerning CO2 emissions on a yearly basis.
2010-2013: Other research programs supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation
AAA
Access to the climate archives at Fontainebleau.
Discover the project
eFOCE
Long-term effects of ocean acidification and experiments in the Mediterranean Sea.
PRECLIDE
Climate forecast for the next 30 years.
Subglacior
Retracing climate history through an innovative ice core drilling process in the Antarctic.