The Belmont Forum is guided by the charge embodied in the Belmont Challenge, which is a “funders' vision for the priority knowledge and capabilities derived from environmental research that society needs, and the underpinning research challenges over the next decade to deliver them.”

This vision is described in a White Paper, and encapsulated as 'the Belmont Challenge':

To deliver knowledge needed for action to avoid and adapt to detrimental environmental change including extreme hazardous events.

This requires: 

• Assessments of risks, impacts and vulnerabilities, through regional and decadal-scale analysis and prediction 
• Information on the state of the environment, through advanced observing systems 
• Interaction of natural and social sciences 
• Enhanced environmental information service providers to users 
• Effective international coordination mechanisms

With priority foci being: 

• Coastal vulnerability 
• Freshwater Security 
• Ecosystem Services 
• Carbon Budgets 
• Most vulnerable societies

These challenges will be integrated into a seamless, global Earth System Analysis and Prediction System (ESAPS), which will provide decision-makers with a holistic decision support system.