The application period has opened for the 2020 Keeling Curve Prize, which awards $25,000 to each of 10 projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase their uptake. Each year, this prestigious competition attracts entries from around the world.

The prize is named after scientist Charles David Keeling’s iconic graph showing a sharp increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere since the 1950s. Earlier this year, the Keeling Curve showed atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide topping 415 ppm.

Prizes will be awarded to two projects in each of the following five categories:

• Capture & Utilization – Activating and accelerating natural or human-made systems for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration;

• Energy – Decarbonizing energy, supporting zero-carbon energy, or leading the way in the supply, distribution, access, infrastructure, or improvements of low- or zero-emissions energy systems;

• Finance – Making the economics or financial mechanisms work for heat-trapping gas reduction or reversal ventures;

• Social & Cultural Pathways – Changing the way people consider, understand, and act on humanity’s impacts affecting the livability of planet Earth; and

• Transport & Mobility – Reimagining and reinventing all types of vehicles, fuels, and mobility options for both people and products.

The 2020 Keeling Curve Prize application period closes on Feb. 10. Finalists will be named in the spring, and winners will be announced in the summer.

Keeling Curve Prize finalists and winners are chosen by a panel of climate scientists, public policy experts, and researchers, including Achala Abeysinghe, Ph.D., of the International Institute for Environment and Development; Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Ph.D., of the Union of Concerned Scientists; Lucas Joppa, Ph.D., of Microsoft; George Polk of Tulum Trust; and Jonathan Silver of Tax Equity Advisors, LLC.

Winners of the 2018 and 2019 Keeling Curve Prize are listed here.