Doughnut plot showing 53% of climate change papers are closed.

Source: Curtin Open Access Initiative

MOST CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH
IS
NOT ACCESSIBLE

Climate change, and the resulting harm to our global biodiversity, is one of the world’s most pressing challenges. The complexity of the climate crisis requires global, national, and local actions informed by multidisciplinary research.

The goal of the Open Climate Campaign is to promote open access to research to accelerate progress towards solving the climate crisis and preserving global biodiversity. If we are going to solve these global challenges, the knowledge (research, data, educational resources, software) about them must be open.

OUR
GOALS

Bring attention to the issue of access to knowledge on climate change

We have developed easily understood campaign materials that describe the importance of the campaign particularly to researchers who are producing the knowledge and informing them of tools that can open their outputs.

open access review of climate and biodiversity research

We know we want increase open access to research on climate science and biodiversity, but where are we now? We are working with bibliometric experts to determine the percent of open vs. closed climate science and biodiversity research and publish the results openly.

overcome legal and policy barriers

We have created a strategic road map for breaking down and circumventing legal and policy barriers to support new open access incentives. We have also adapted existing and/or creating new policies and incentives with governments and institutions to clear barriers to open knowledge.

Help national governments to adopt and implement strong OA policies

We have identified opportunities to engage national governments about opening publicly funded research outputs on climate and biodiversity, and are helping governments create, adopt and implement equitable open access policies.

Help funders to adopt and implement strong OA policies

We have identified opportunities to engage non-government funders about opening publicly funded research outputs on climate and biodiversity, and are helping funders create, adopt and implement new or update existing open access policies.

Help environmental organizations to adopt and implement strong OA policies

We are helping environmental organizations create, adopt and implement new or update existing open access policies. We are also working with environmental organizations to share their climate change and biodiversity content, including their educational resources, with the public.

Engage and contribute to international frameworks on climate and biodiversity

We are identifying, engaging, and contributing to draft frameworks (e.g., UN Convention on Biological Diversity: Global Biodiversity Framework) to include funder open access policy recommendations, and the public benefits of open access knowledge.

Obtain campaign endorsements

We are working with international organizations, funders, governments, university climate and biodiversity departments, research centers and open access advocates to endorse and communicate the campaign to lead to more open access climate and biodiversity research.

ensure inclusive outcomes throughout the campaign

 We are identifying topics and challenges specific to traditionally excluded geographical regions and working to ensure this campaign both includes and privileges working these partners.

Identify and open important climate and biodiversity research

We will identify important existing climate and biodiversity research publications not already open access and unbind those seminal publications making them open access.

Publishers make their climate and biodiversity research open access

We will partner with governments, funders, global environmental organizations and publishing associations to impress upon publishers the urgency of opening up their content and to work with those publishers that are already making the transition in an open and transparent manner.

Climate change is a multifaceted issue
with many dimensions

We are mobilizing researchers, national governments, funders and environment organizations to open knowledge about climate change and biodiversity preservation by working with them and providing direct support.

The world needs
OPEN ACCESS
to climate science

Help us make it a reality.

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