Guidance

Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme

Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) is the UK’s £110 million flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience.

Overview of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme

CLARE is the UK’s £110 million flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, announced at COP26. CLARE bridges critical gaps between science and action by championing Southern leadership of research.

The programme supports partner governments, communities, and the private sector to use evidence and innovation to progress effective solutions to the climate challenge. It aims to build capacity of those carrying out the research and those using the resulting evidence.

CLARE is mostly (about 90%) funded by UK Aid through the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and co-funded and run by Canada’s International Development Research Centre.

CLARE links short-and long-term issues to enable sustainable, fair economic and social development in a changing climate, through:

  • long-term commitments and partnerships worldwide
  • needs-driven and action-focused research

It supports action to reduce impacts now while providing a better understanding of climate risks.

Since COP26, CLARE has become one of the most prominent research programmes in Climate Adaptation and Resilience globally. So far, 24 research projects are underway involving 136 organisations in 38 countries, three-quarters of which are in Africa and Asia.

CLARE is developing research benefiting 30 countries by involving a wide range of organisations. These include research institutions in a range of disciplines, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local government, meteorological agencies and the private sector.

Countries where CLARE is active

Countries benefitting from CLARE research include:

Africa

  • Benin
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Ethiopia
  • Ghana
  • Kenya
  • Madagascar
  • Mauritius
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Nepal
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Rwanda
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Tanzania
  • Togo
  • Uganda
  • Zambia

Asia-Pacific

  • Bhutan
  • Bangladesh
  • Fiji
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Maldives
  • Nepal
  • Philippines

Other CLARE activities

CLARE also supports strategic research-to-action partnerships, such as the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA). Launched at COP26, ARA brings together over 250 organisations, spanning research, funders and practitioners, to promote action-oriented research to inform effective adaptation to reduce climate risks.  

The CLARE programme also funds science for natural hazard emergencies, informing preparation and humanitarian response of the FCDO, wider UK government and other humanitarian partners. This is accomplished through in-house and external specialist advisors as well as partnerships with the Met Office, British Geological Survey and the UK academia.

What the fund will achieve

CLARE will enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards, particularly for the most vulnerable across the Global South.

How the fund works

CLARE includes 3 core pillars:

  • research: commissioning new substantive action-oriented research as well as providing the cross-programme infrastructure
  • services: providing timely weather and climate services to inform investments and actions by the FCDO, UK government and wider stakeholders in partnership with the UK Met Office and others
  • partnerships: supporting strategic alliances on climate science and adaptation such as the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) and Climate Risks and Early Warning Systems (CREWS)

How to apply for funding opportunities

Find out more about funding opportunities on the CLARE website.

Updates to this page

Published 7 November 2024

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