[14. November Belém, Brazil] – The Mitigation Action Facility officially launched its 2026 Call for Projects during a high-level side event at COP30, reinforcing its role as a catalyst for turning climate pledges into concrete, large-scale mitigation action across emerging markets and developing economies.
Held at the NDC Partnership COP30 Pavilion in the Blue Zone, the event titled “The Call for Projects 2026: From pledges to projects – scaling sectoral decarbonisation” convened government representatives, climate finance institutions, and development partners to highlight new funding opportunities and showcase progress in operationalising Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0). The event underscored the urgent need to move beyond ambition toward tangible, sector-wide decarbonisation, particularly in the energy, industry, and transport sectors.
The 2026 Call for Projects, with an overall funding volume of EUR 100 million, will support ambitious, scalable and investment-ready projects. Each project can apply for up to EUR 25 million. The Call introduces refinements to project cycle processes and unveils the Lighthouse Pilot Projects, an optional, additional modality designed to accelerate high-impact sectoral transformations. These improvements aim to make the implementation of mitigation projects more accessible as well as dynamic and create opportunities for mature projects to advance quickly.
The event was moderated by Rosa-Stella Mbulu, Lead Strategic Partnerships of the Technical Support Unit to the Mitigation Action Facility, who opened the session with welcoming remarks and set the stage for the day’s key announcements.
Matt Toombs, Director for International Climate Finance and Strategy at the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, delivered the opening remarks and formally launched the 2026 Call for Projects. He emphasised the importance of innovative climate finance mechanisms in enabling countries to implement their updated NDCs at pace and scale: “COP30 is the move from pledges to implementation, and we really see the Mitigation Action Facility playing a critical role within this, both in providing funding, technical assistant to bold projects and helping de-risk mitigation technologies and approaches.”
A keynote address by Vera Rodenhoff, Deputy Director General at Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, highlighted the important role of the Mitigation Action Facility regarding international cooperation and bridging the gap between climate ambition and delivery: “We need to mobilise finance to turn this ambition into impact and scale, and the Mitigation Action Facility has a proven track record in doing so.”
Philipp Munzinger, who recently took on the role of Head of the Technical Support Unit to the Mitigation Action Facility from Dr. Sören David, presented a series of major announcements, including:
- The shortlist of projects selected for the Detailed Preparation Phase (DPP) under the 2025 Call for Projects
- Projects newly approved for implementation
- Improvements to MAF’s project cycle processes
- The official launch of the new report: “From grants to guarantees: How the Mitigation Action Facility’s financial mechanisms transform NDC ambition into climate action”
The gathering furthermore featured a project showcase highlighting the Mitigation Action Facility supported initiative PotencializEE – Industrial Energy Efficiency in Brazil, presented by Caroline Cabral Fernandes da Costa, Specialist in Industrial Development at SENAI. The project demonstrates how targeted climate finance can drive industrial decarbonisation while strengthening productivity and competitiveness.
The event concluded with an interactive networking session, providing participants with the opportunity to engage with representatives from the Mitigation Action Facility, learn about available funding opportunities and discuss potential project ideas for the 2026 Call.
Livestream
The event was livestreamed and can be viewed here:
About the Mitigation Action Facility
The Mitigation Action Facility is a go-to platform providing technical support and climate
finance for ambitious mitigation projects with the aim of decarbonising key sectors of the
economy and society. The Call for Projects 2026 will offer climate finance for the implementation of mitigation projects aligned with new ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions.
Since 2012, the Mitigation Action Facility has supported 66 projects across 38 countries, with a total funding volume of EUR 835 million.
We are looking forward to your Project Concepts submitted by 25 February 2026 through our OAP.
Mitigation Action Facility
contact@mitigation-action.org