WIREDGOV

The National Lottery Community Fund yesterday [24 February] launched the second round of applications for the Climate Action Fund and a new report to demonstrate and inspire community-led action on climate change.

This round of funding will see £8 to £10 million made is available for development and full grants across the UK. As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, The National Lottery Community Fund have already committed almost £20 million to projects supporting community-led climate action as part of the Climate Action Fund. In addition to this, the Fund is exploring how to embed environment and climate action throughout its funding portfolios, such as its environmental top-up grants currently being piloted in Wales.

In this round, the Climate Action Fund will focus on supporting projects addressing waste and sustainable consumption. There are a wide range of community-led approaches being implemented across the UK to move towards becoming a lower waste society, and the Fund’s aim is to identify and support the best opportunities for community-scale action.

This round has a particular focus on projects that have the potential to scale, are approaching an old problem in a new way, are exploring innovative finance mechanisms to ensure longer-term sustainability, are exploring narratives to engage new audiences and address behaviour change and are clearly pointing towards the potential for systemic change.  

The Climate Action Fund is keen that applicants are able to identify the carbon impact of their project, with ideas and approaches looking at themes such as retail and consumerism, repair and re-use, sustainable fashion, food waste and reimagining waste flows. More details are available here: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate-action-fund-round-2

This second round of funding comes after 23 grants holders, across the UK, were announced in 2020, as part of the National Lottery-funded Climate Action Fund; a ten-year £100 million fund that will reduce the carbon footprint of communities and support community-led movements that can demonstrate what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change. Funding from The National Lottery Community Fund will support the 23 projects, who are sharing over £19.5 million, to work together, share learning and be catalysts for broader and transformative change.

At the same time, The National Lottery Community Fund is also launching "The Power of the Collective” report, which is the first in a series, written by the Fund in conjunction with climate change charity, Ashden, aiming to demonstrate and inspire community-led action on climate change.

This first publication outlines the scale of the challenge posed by climate change, sets the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in context, and introduces the Climate Action Fund. It then outlines the importance, and potential, of community-led climate action, such as the co-benefits and offers advice on how to set up a community-led project.

Click here for the full press release