International award offers £2.5 million to support collaborative projects that help making the impact of climate change on health and wellbeing worldwide visible.

Wellcome has launched the 2026 round of its Climate Impacts Awards, continuing its ambition to make the health consequences of climate change visible and to drive policy change at scale. Established in 2023, the scheme supports research that demonstrates how climate change affects physical and mental health outcomes, with a particular focus on elevating the experiences and needs of the most affected communities.

For the 2026 call, Wellcome will fund research that develops robust evidence on the health effects of climate change while engaging key stakeholders to amplify impactful narratives and accelerate climate action. A central priority is addressing the unequal distribution of climate-related health burdens: vulnerable populations in both low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries often face heightened exposure and complex intersecting vulnerabilities. Funded projects should generate findings that can influence policy, combining health and economic arguments to help decision makers identify where impacts are most severe and which communities require urgent investment.

Research must take an engaged approach, embedding collaboration with stakeholders and affected communities throughout project design and delivery. Stakeholders may include government bodies, civil society organisations, multilateral institutions, private or legal sector partners, or cultural institutions. Projects are encouraged to explore why climate impacts remain ‘invisible’, including issues of distance, ideology, lack of visibility, unclear linkages and low policy priority.

Wellcome expects to fund 10–15 awards. Each team must include one lead applicant and up to seven co‑applicants, forming a transdisciplinary partnership that includes community and policy actors. Lead applicants may be based at non-profit organisations anywhere in the world with the exception of mainland China. Grants of up to £2.5 million for up to three years are available to support a wide range of eligible costs.