The Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Oceans has announced a Joint Call on Blue Carbon Ecosystems, offering €5.3 million in funding to advance research on the role of blue carbon in climate mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity protection. 

This call is supported by seven partner organizations across Europe and Canada and aligns with the objectives of the UN Ocean Decade and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.

Why Blue Carbon Matters
Blue carbon ecosystems – such as salt marshes, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and increasingly macroalgae and unvegetated mudflats – play a critical role in capturing and storing carbon, helping to regulate the global climate. 

Their conservation and restoration not only mitigate climate change but also deliver co-benefits like ecosystem resilience, biodiversity protection, and coastal adaptation. However, these ecosystems face growing threats from sea-level rise, pollution, and human activities such as dredging and tourism.

Scope of the Call

• Expand scientific knowledge on carbon stocks and fluxes
• Improve methodologies and measurement protocols
• Identify effective interventions for restoration and protection

Funding & Participation

• Total Budget: €5.3 million
• Participating Countries: Ireland, Canada, Germany, Malta, Norway, Poland, Greece
• Project Duration: Up to 36 months

Submission Details

• Deadline: 2 March 2026 (14:00 CET)
• Submission Portal: Apply here

Call guidelines here

Link to full call text

Budget: €43,500,000
Eligible countries: 28 countries, represented by 38 participating funding organisations (for a full list – check the call page)
Deadline:  Pre-proposal (17/11/2025) | Full proposal (provisional): 17/06/2026

Description
The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of its third Joint Transnational Call, under the title “Digitalisation and Innovation for Resilient Marine Ecosystems, Businesses, and Communities to Strengthen the EU Blue Economy’s Competitiveness.”

This co-funded call of the EU Partnership pools financial resources through the participation of 38 funding organisations from 28 countries and the European Union,

This third co-funded call aims to support transnational research and innovation projects of 36 months duration, addressing one of the five priority areas below:

• Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs) at sub-basin scale
• Transitioning the blue economy sectors, and the development of the coexistence and the marine multi-use infrastructures
• Climate-Smart Planning and managing sea-uses at the regional level
• Blue Bioresources; sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and new bio-based products
• Resilient Coastal Communities and Businesses

An information webinar took place on 6 October 2025 – watch the recording on YouTube or download the presentation

Looking for a partner or a project to join? Use the SBEP Partner Search Tool available here.

Apply here

Link to the full call text

Budget: € 16.000.000 (Estimated EU contribution per project: 8.000.000
Eligible countries: EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT), countries associated to Horizon Europe – see list of particpating countries
Deadline: 20 January 2026

Description
The Horizon Europe call HORIZON-CL5-2026-01-D5-17 supports innovation actions aimed at enabling real-time monitoring of both regulated and non-regulated emissions from vessels and port activities in waterfront cities.

The goal is to develop tamper-proof, remote measurement technologies that can track pollutants-including those from alternative fuels-during vessel operation and port processes such as cargo handling, towing, and bunkering.

These tools will help public authorities enforce emission limits and contribute to the EU’s Zero Pollution Action Plan and Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy. Projects should also address emissions from other industrial activities within port areas and support harmonized methods for measuring emissions across coastal, inland, and open sea contexts.

The call expects projects to reach Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7–8 by completion. Demonstrations should take place in at least six TEN-T ports and align with the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, feeding into local Climate City Contracts. Proposals must include collaboration with the Cities Mission Platform, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding. Outcomes should include validated emission factors, automated reporting systems, and governance models that enhance port-city cooperation on pollution abatementv