Best Climate Change Grants in California

The California Sea Grant State Fellowship Program offers graduate students a unique chance to engage in coastal and marine resource management in California. Modeled after the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, it provides hands-on experience by matching fellows with agencies and organizations focused on marine policy. Since 1987, this program has successfully placed 350 graduates, enhancing their career prospects in marine and coastal management. Hosts benefit from the skills of motivated fellows while contributing to their professional development.

The Coastal Conservancy offers grants to restore and protect California's coast, enhance public access, and improve climate resiliency. With millions in funding available, projects that serve disadvantaged communities or utilize nature-based solutions are prioritized. Applicants must engage with a Regional Manager for eligibility guidance and can expect grants typically between $200,000 and $5 million. This ongoing funding supports various stages of project development, including planning, construction, and monitoring.

The National Sea Grant Law Center is inviting proposals for the Coastal Resilience Program to research laws and policies addressing coastal resilience challenges such as sea level rise and flooding. With a funding cap of $150,000 over two years, this initiative aims to assess the effectiveness of existing policies and promote informed decision-making in coastal management. Up to two projects will be selected for funding, supporting innovative solutions to enhance community resilience against environmental threats.

The Forest Health Grant from CAL FIRE aims to enhance the resilience of California's forests against extreme disturbances such as wildfires and drought. This program supports landscape-scale projects focused on restoring forest health, protecting water resources, and promoting carbon storage. By funding activities that improve forest management and reforestation, CAL FIRE addresses climate change impacts while ensuring the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Eligible projects must demonstrate clear climate benefits through various management practices.

The Nature Based Solutions: Wetland Restoration funding aims to enhance wetland restoration, conservation, and climate resilience in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This initiative addresses significant peat soil subsidence, which threatens water projects and agriculture in the region. By re-wetting peat soils, the program can mitigate CO2 emissions and support diverse projects, including tidal wetland restoration, crop conversion, and land acquisition, fostering a sustainable environment and economy.

The Climate Adaptation Planning Grant, part of California's Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants, provides $3 million to support local and regional efforts in addressing climate vulnerabilities in transportation infrastructure. This grant encourages the development of adaptation plans that aim to mitigate damage from climate change and extreme weather. Open to applicants with ongoing or new adaptation efforts, it fosters strategic planning for roads, railways, and other critical transport systems across the state.

The California Inflation Reduction Act Grants support Urban and Community Forestry projects aimed at enhancing tree canopy access and community engagement, particularly in disadvantaged areas. With a state allocation of $30.8 million, these grants promote climate resilience, combat extreme heat, and improve forest health. Funded by the USDA Forest Service, the initiative aligns with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, ensuring equitable access to the benefits of urban trees and fostering community involvement in environmental stewardship.

The Senate Bill 1 Sea Level Rise Tribal Cultural Resources Funding Program aims to support California Native American tribes in addressing the challenges posed by sea level rise (SLR). This initiative provides funding for tribes to assess and plan for the impacts on their ancestral lands and cultural resources, ensuring the preservation of their identities and practices. Eligible projects include community visioning, data collection, and the development of strategies to protect culturally significant sites threatened by SLR.

The CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program aims to enhance forest resilience in California by funding critical research in forest health and fire science. This initiative, part of the California Climate Investments, supports studies that address vital topics such as wildfire management, ecological impacts, and socio-economic factors. By prioritizing scientific research, the program ensures that actionable insights are available for forest management decisions to combat climate change effects and promote biodiversity.

California Energy Commission

As the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency, the California Energy Commission (CEC) plays a critical role in creating the energy system of the future—one that is clean, modern, and ensures the fifth largest economy in the world continues to thrive. Combating climate change is fundamental to maintaining California’s future. The agency’s research, programs and policies remain crucial today as the state plans for 100% clean energy and carbon neutrality by mid-century. CEC is helping create the energy system of California’s future through activities such as Planning and Policy Development, Renewable Energy Growth; Energy Efficiency; Energy Innovation; Cleaner Transportation; and Responsible Electricity Infrastructure.

GFO-25-305 - Non-Energy Impacts of Integrated Energy Retrofit Packages from the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program

Purpose

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund an applied research and development project that informs California’s transition to an equitable, zero-carbon energy system that is climate-resilient and meets environmental goals. Applied research supported by this solicitation will evaluate the non-energy impacts of building retrofits, taking advantage of the opportunity to study the impacts and benefits of the Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) Direct Install Program. By leveraging the work of the EBD program, this research can shed light on previously understudied benefits and costs to low-income households. The expected outcomes include lessons learned to inform ongoing and future decarbonization investments and priorities.

About

The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future for all. As the state's primary energy policy and planning agency, the Energy Commission plays a critical role in creating the energy system of the future - one that is clean, is modern, and ensures the fifth largest economy in the world continues to thrive.

RFQ-25-401 - Energy Code Compliance Evaluation Support

Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is to select a Prime Contractor to lead a team of professional architectural and engineering consultants to provide technical support for:

• The California Energy Code compliance evaluation program, including the design and execution of methodologically defensible evaluations to address critical statewide data gaps and improve the CEC’s understanding of both process-based and energy-based compliance.
• Improving the State’s intelligence regarding Energy Code compliance through evidence-based identification of systemic challenges, regional variations, and root causes of noncompliance, informed by empirical field data rather than program attribution or advocacy-focused analyses.
• Establishing a technical foundation for future statewide Energy Code compliance rates analyses, including the development and validation of evaluation methodologies, sampling frameworks, data collection instruments, and analytical approaches that can be replicated and scaled in subsequent studies.
• Supporting implementation of recommendations from the “California Energy Code Compliance Gap Analysis” staff report by providing technical evaluation, feasibility assessment, and empirical evidence to inform enforcement strategies, compliance improvement priorities, and future policy development.
• Conducting comprehensive field studies across defined building categories and compliance definitions, recognizing the performance-based nature of the Energy Code, the existence of multiple compliance pathways, construction-phase access limitations, and the inherent complexity of evaluating energy-based outcomes at scale.
• Identifying and supporting technically grounded compliance implementation solutions, including evaluation-informed recommendations, pilot concepts, workforce-related technical assistance, and implementation-ready tools or frameworks that enable State, regional, and local partners to improve Energy Code compliance outcomes based on documented findings from the evaluation activities. Web Team uses the purpose paragraph on the web page and Listserv email announcement to specify the solicitation's purpose

Community Resilience Centers Round 2

The California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) is pleased to announce the availability of approximately $55 million in funding from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 for Round 2 of the Community Resilience Centers (CRC) Program through this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). 

Program Summary

The CRC Program will offer Planning Grants and Implementation Grants. Unlike Round 1, the CRC Program will not offer a separate Project Development Grant type. Instead, Round 2’s Implementation Grant will offer a new, funded “Pre-Development Phase” that will support Lead Grantees’ project readiness before implementation. The Pre-Development Phase will last no more than one year from grant execution.

Implementation Grants

Grant Purpose

Implementation Grants will fund new construction and retrofits of facilities to serve as Community Resilience Centers, as well as programs and services that build overall community resilience.

Examples of Eligible Activities

Construction, retrofits, and other upgrades to the CRC Facility itself; Campus Amenity improvements; programs and services; community engagement.

Project Area

CRC applications must be community focused. All CRC Implementation Grant applicants are required to define a Project Area. The Project Area must encompass the physical location of the CRC Facility (the CRC Site), Campus Amenities connected to the CRC Facility, Partner Sites and any programs and services based out of the CRC Facility or Partner Sites.

2027 New Faculty Awards Request for Proposals

Funding Opportunity Overview

The California Sea Grant College Program is now soliciting proposals for applied research projects by new faculty that address California Sea Grant’s 2024-2027 Strategic Plan goals and objectives in Resilient Communities and Economies (RCE), Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture* (SFA), and Healthy Coastal Ecosystems (HCE). Proposals addressing our priorities in Resilient Communities and Economies will be given priority in order to best complement our existing investments in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture and Healthy Coastal Ecosystems. 

Proposals can only be submitted by, and support the applied research of, a new faculty member (see Eligibility) employed at a California-based university. Applied research (as defined in NOAA Administrative Order NAO 216-115B) is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge, and is directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective. Projects that demonstrate meaningful impacts and benefits to coastal California communities and natural resources management agencies will be prioritized.