Climate Curve, a US nonprofit formerly known as the Global Warming Mitigation Project, runs the Keeling Curve Prize for climate projects that are already cutting greenhouse gas emissions or pulling carbon out of the air. Ten winners each receive $50,000 to scale their work, chosen from applicants in more than 100 countries across five categories: Carbon Sinks, Energy, Finance, Social and Cultural Pathways, and Transport and Mobility. Startups, nonprofits, community leaders, university research groups and teams inside larger companies can all apply, as long as the project is active and producing results today.

What you get:

• $50,000 for each of the 10 winners, to scale the project
• Visibility, networking and connections to further funding for winners and finalists
• Access to Climate Curve's Constellations Fellowship, where winners and finalists can request up to three interns a semester
• Support from CrowdSolve, a climate innovation marketplace offering a curriculum and community to prize applicants

What you'll do:

• Choose a primary category, and optionally secondary ones, for your project
• Complete the online application across three tabs: Eligibility, General, and Application Questions
• Quantify your project's current and at-scale greenhouse gas impact and explain how it can scale functionally and financially
• Optionally add a one-minute video or a pitch deck of up to 10 slides

Key dates:

• Applications opened November 1, 2026
• Applications close January 15, 2027 at 11:59 PM UTC-12, or earlier if the 500 application cap is reached
• 20 finalists announced in spring 2027
• 10 winners announced in July 2027

More information:

• Prize page: https://www.climatecurve.org/kcp
• Eligibility requirements: https://www.climatecurve.org/eligibility-requirements
• FAQ: https://www.climatecurve.org/faq
• Sample application: https://kcp-conduit.org/sampleApplication/
• Questions: prizes@climatecurve.org

• The project must be active and already producing results; past work, unimplemented ideas, untested hypotheses and requests for personal funding are not accepted
• Applications must quantify emissions reductions or carbon uptake and address functional and financial scalability
• Open worldwide wherever Climate Curve may distribute funds under US OFAC sanctions rules (comprehensive sanctions cover Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and parts of Ukraine)
• Applications must be written in English; an optional video may be in another language with English subtitles
• Using AI to generate or substantially edit application content is not permitted and may lead to disqualification
• Applicants can win in only one category per year; past winners may apply only with a different project
• Only the first 500 complete, eligible applications are guaranteed consideration, so apply early
• No application fee