Noteworthy Opportunities to Show Your Commitment towards Preventing Climate Change

Climate change is a reality that seems inevitable. We all strive to be mindful of our actions to save the environment, prevent climate change, and preserve our future. However, not many times do we come across opportunities dedicated to the cause. But Youth Time Magazine understands the importance of having the relevant knowledge and putting in constant efforts for the same. Therefore, this week’s opportunities digest is dedicated to highlighting upcoming notable competitions and grants with the objective of preventing climate change. So, put on your thinking caps, choose the correct match, and ace it! 

The Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge

After five successful editions in the past, the Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge is open to receiving applications for 2022. With a new focus on Climate Action, the Challenge also supports SDG5, Gender Equality, recognizing women’s pivotal role in combating climate change. Projects submitted to the Challenge must integrate a gender dimension (such as addressing the role of women in adapting to climate shifts and participating in policy-making and leadership roles) into their projects.

Organization

The Elsevier Foundation contributes over $1 million a year to non-profit organizations, and it’s funded by Elsevier, a global information analytics company specializing in science and health. The Elsevier Foundation is part of Elsevier’s corporate responsibility program, which centers on our unique contributions to sustainable development in gender, health, climate, and reducing inequalities. On a day-to-day basis, the Elsevier Foundation is run by a small core team cons, governed by its Board.

Benefits

The two winners of the challenge will receive a cash prize of €25,000 each and will be felicitated at a special event in October 2022. 

Eligibility 

Projects will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

• The proposal clearly describes the urgency of the problem.
• The project utilizes innovative green and sustainable chemistry and chemical science approaches.
• The project is replicable, scalable, sustainable (make sure to specify why), and sets a benchmark for innovation – new ideas or concepts in development will be given preference over more advanced projects.
• The proposal highlights the novelty of your approach and gives a short literature overview of what has been done before, both by you and others (background).
• The project is applicable in and suitable for developing countries. Describe the project’s social impact on local communities, including gender equality either in design or implementation.
• The project must have an impactful gender component, clearly describing the sex/gender dimensions of the research.
• Includes an implementation plan of the project.

Deadline 

The last day to apply for the challenge is July 14, 2022. 

Read more about the opportunity here. 

Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program (CCESP)

Applications are welcomed from suitably qualified applicants for the 2022 Call for Proposals for GMS Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program. The program plans to have 27 demonstrations relating to the different themes (such as demonstrations on gender-responsive community resilience projects and the circular economy, pollution control, waste management, etc.) 

The themes for the proposal are: 

• Climate and disaster resilience,
• Low-carbon transitions,
• Climate-smart landscapes,
• Environmental quality through pollution control and sustainable waste management,
• Digital technology for climate actions and environmental sustainability,
• Financing low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure and technology.

Organization

The One Young World Ambassador Community is the most impactful network for young leaders. Demonstrations are one of the main activities of the CCESP to help enhance climate resilience, green growth, and environmental quality in the GMS. The CCESP plans to pilot climate action practices, innovative technologies, and financing instruments through these demonstrations. These demonstrations could eventually be scaled up or lead to more comprehensive investments.

Benefits

Each chosen demonstration will have a funding of $40,000. 

Eligibility 

The proposals can be developed and submitted by any of the following entities in Asia:

• Working Group on Environment (WGE) coordinators and relevant government departments and agencies
• Development partners
• Civil society organizations and community-based organizations
• Private sector
• Academia and research institutes

Deadline 

The last day to submit your proposal is July 1, 2022. 

Read about the opportunity in detail on the official website. 

Natural Resources Defense Council Climate Storytelling Fellowship 

The Black List is thrilled to announce that it has once again partnered with NRDC’s (Natural Resources Defense Council) Rewrite the Future program, The Redford Center, and The CAA Foundation to launch a second iteration of the NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship.  

Organization

Since 2005, each December, the Black List releases its annual list, a survey of the most liked unproduced screenplays of that year. The annual lists are aggregated using votes from film executives working in the film industry. The annual lists have included such Oscar-winning films as Juno, The King’s Speech, and Argo. At its heart, the annual Black Lists are meant to shine a light on extraordinary screenwriting, some of which may have been overlooked more broadly.

Benefits 

The fellowship will grant $20,000 to three writers to support the revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a meaningful way through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting. 

Eligibility 

• To be considered for the fellowship, a script should engage with climate in a meaningful way through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting.
• The script can be in any genre but climate change and solutions must drive action and affect the choices made by the characters.
• A climate story is one in which climate change affects characters, influences choices, and drives action.
• A climate story acknowledges that we already live in a climate-altered world whether or not our house has burned up or been washed away in a flood.
• We worry about climate change. We feel shame and grief about it. We talk about it with our partners and friends. People discuss whether it makes sense to have children, wonder where the safest place is to live, or what they can possibly do to help.
• Climate can be a central factor in motivating characters and driving the plot. The story and genre options are limitless because climate can touch every aspect of life, from food, health, and relationships to justice, jobs, and national security.
• There have been few climate stories in mainstream entertainment, especially considering the scale of the crisis. Most depict extreme weather disasters, societal breakdowns, and apocalypse. That dark and narrow vision is understandable, and it can be entertaining, but if all the climate stories we see show characters stuck in despair, or in dystopian futures, it reinforces the view that there’s no way out.
• It also overlooks the enormous potential for original content that illuminates the more complex and nuanced human reality of the climate crisis, including stories about people fighting for a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable future.
• We need it all–the bleak and the inspirational, the fantasies, dramas, satires, and rom-coms.
• It is the power and privilege of writers to show us how climate change is transforming our world and to help us find a path to salvation.
• Note: For TV pilot submissions, applicants who make the shortlist must also provide a long synopsis or treatment describing the primary story arcs and how the climate themes will be developed throughout the show. 

Deadline

The deadline for submitting your scripts is November 2022. 

Find out more about the opportunity here.

Photo: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

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