The Milkywire Climate Transformation Fund invites organisations to submit proposals under its Nature Protection & Restoration and Decarbonization Pillars for the 2026 funding cycle.

Through this call, the Fund seeks to support projects that contribute to systemic climate transformation by:

• Unblocking implementation – scaling proven solutions and removing structural, political, economic, or social barriers that hinder large-scale deployment of climate solutions

• Unlocking innovation – enabling new approaches to emerge by testing concepts, building evidence, reducing deployment costs, and addressing early-stage risks that prevent solutions from taking off.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the pillar-specific focus areas and requirements outlined below. Proposals that do not align with the Fund’s priorities will not be considered.

To learn more about the Milkywire Climate Transformation Fund and previously supported projects within the Nature and Decarbonization Pillars, please visit: https://www.milkywire.com/climate-transformation-fund 

For questions, please contact: climate@milkywire.com 

Funding Structure

Selected projects will receive an initial one-year grant, with the possibility of renewal based on project needs, demonstrated progress and performance, and strategic alignment with the Fund’s evolving priorities.

Indicative timeline 

Feb 20, 2026: Call for proposals opens.

• March 17, 2026: Call for proposals closes.

• April 2026: Longlisted applicants receive an invitation to submit a full proposal.

• May 2026: Review period, including advisory group review of full submissions.

• June 2026: Final selection confirmed for category A and B nature and decarbonization.

• June-July 2026: Selected organizations go through due diligence. 

• July-Aug 2026: Contracts finalized. 

Nature Protection & Restoration Pillar

Background

Nature protection and restoration play a critical role in climate mitigation and resilience. Scientific evidence clearly demonstrates the need to protect remaining intact and old-growth ecosystems across all biomes, while also restoring degraded natural systems with high carbon sequestration potential and long-term permanence.

Priority ecosystems for 2026 include, but are not limited to:

• Forests (across tropical, temperate, and boreal biomes)

• Peatlands

• Mangroves

• Grasslands and savannas

• Seagrass meadows and other blue carbon ecosystems

In line with the latest science and the Fund’s strategic priorities, the 2026 call for the Nature Pillar will focus on two distinct categories:

• Category A: Preventing deforestation across forest biomes

• Category B: Innovating for ecosystem restoration

Out of Scope

Due to limited funding and strategic focus, the Fund does not consider:

• Marketplaces, MRV providers, digital tools, apps, or other intermediary service providers.

Category A: Preventing Deforestation Across Forest Biomes

Under this category we prioritise projects that address root causes of deforestation by creating enabling conditions for long-term forest protection.

Examples of eligible approaches include (but are not limited to):

• Supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities in land tenure, land titling, and territorial protection;

• Strengthening governance, enforcement, or community-led monitoring in high-risk deforestation areas;

• Removing systemic economic, legal, or political barriers that drive deforestation.

Projects should primarily focus on tropical forests, while high-integrity old-growth forests in other biomes may also be considered. Projects that can point to robust evidence for the effectiveness of the interventions are prioritized.

Please apply for Nature Protection & Restoration Category A here

Category B: Innovating for Ecosystem Restoration

Through this category, we aim to diversify our portfolio across ecosystems and support innovation that advances both restoration outcomes and scientific understanding of carbon sink potential.

Priority is given to projects that:

• Target mangroves, peatlands, grasslands, seagrass, or other high-impact ecosystems;

• Test novel restoration models, financing approaches, governance structures, or technologies;

• Present a clear roadmap toward self-sustainability, long-term viability, and replication at scale beyond grant funding.

Please apply for Nature Protection & Restoration Category B here

Cross-Cutting Requirements 

All proposed projects must:

• Clearly demonstrate measurable emissions reductions and/or CO₂ absorption potential;

• Include a robust monitoring plan and a credible pathway to long-term permanence;

• Contribute to the conservation of biodiversity-rich ecosystems;

• Deliver meaningful co-benefits for local and Indigenous communities;

• Be designed and implemented using an equity-first approach, including the application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) where relevant.

Decarbonization Pillar

Background

Rapid and sustained emissions reductions across the energy, transport, industry, agriculture, and other sectors are essential to achieving global climate targets. While many decarbonization solutions are technically proven, their large-scale deployment is often constrained by policy and regulatory barriers, lack of early-stage capital, market failures, and insufficient coordination across actors.

The Decarbonization Pillar focuses on supporting high-impact initiatives that unlock and unblock the solutions on which net-zero pathways depend. The Fund prioritises projects that create the enabling conditions needed for the transition to happen at the speed and scale required by climate science—for example by de-risking early deployment, demonstrating viable business or delivery models, reducing costs, or removing legal, regulatory, and structural bottlenecks that slow down adoption.

In 2026, the Decarbonization Pillar will prioritise projects in two complementary categories:

• Category A: Unblocking climate solutions 

• Category B: Unlocking innovations

Category A: Unblocking climate solutions 

Under this category, the Fund seeks to support decarbonization solutions that should already be scaling—but are not.

Today, the primary barrier to climate progress is no longer technology, but implementation. An estimated 55% of the emissions reductions required this decade are already cost-competitive or cost-saving, yet permitting delays, policy gaps, governance challenges, and limited institutional capacity prevent these solutions from being deployed at the pace and scale required.

This category therefore prioritises projects that remove critical implementation and deployment bottlenecks—including regulatory, institutional, financial, or coordination barriers—and enable proven climate solutions to move from potential to impact.

Please apply for Decarbonization Category A here

Category B: Unlocking innovations 

Under this category, the Fund seeks to support emerging climate solutions with the potential to deliver large-scale emissions reductions of greenhouse gasses, but which are not yet ready to scale without early validation and targeted support.

Many promising climate innovations face a critical gap at early stages, where limited proof, high uncertainty, or first-of-a-kind risks prevent them from attracting sufficient capital. Relatively small amounts of catalytic funding can remove key barriers, accelerate learning, and generate the evidence needed to unlock broader deployment.

This category prioritises high-leverage innovation opportunities that contribute to emissions reductions, recognising that meeting corporate and global climate targets depends not only on deploying today’s cost-effective solutions, but also on advancing the technologies and approaches that will be required in the 2030s and beyond.

Please apply for Decarbonization Category B here

Cross-Cutting Requirements

Under both categories we seek exceptionally strong proposals that demonstrate clear impact within each category, high leverage or catalytic potential, and strong alignment with systemic change objectives.

All Decarbonization Pillar projects must:

• Clearly articulate their emissions reduction potential, including the primary mechanisms and assumptions;

• Demonstrate a credible theory of change toward scale or systemic impact;

• Be led by organisations with the capacity to deliver and adapt in complex policy or implementation environments;

Expression of Interest: High-Quality Nature-Based Carbon Credits

Background

Milkywire invites expressions of interest from organisations developing high-quality, nature-based carbon credit projects, including projects that are already certified or have a clear and credible pathway toward certification under recognised voluntary carbon market (VCM) standards.

This expression of interest is intended to:

• Explore potential future collaboration related to high-integrity nature-based carbon credits;

• Deepen our understanding of project models, safeguards, and certification pathways within the voluntary carbon market.

Submitting under this category does not constitute an application for immediate grant funding. Rather, it provides an opportunity to engage in early dialogue with Milkywire. Selected organisations may be invited to share additional information or participate in follow-up discussions.

Projects submitted under this category must demonstrate a strong commitment to:

• Environmental integrity and additionality;

• Robust social safeguards and community engagement (including FPIC where relevant);

• Long-term carbon permanence and risk management.

Through this expression of interest, we seek to engage with organisations developing high-quality nature-based carbon credit projects, including those that are already certified or have a clear pathway toward certification under recognised voluntary carbon market standards. The objective is to explore future collaboration opportunities and to deepen our understanding of project models that combine strong climate impact, environmental integrity, and robust social safeguards.

This category is intended to inform Milkywire’s longer-term approach to nature-based carbon credits and does not represent immediate grant funding.

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