WIREDGOV

35 community groups from all over Wales have been taking part in the Climate Action Boost scheme over the last year. The groups, drawn from a broad and diverse network, were given National Lottery funding of up to £15,000 per group, along with support from Renew Wales or Sustainable Communities Wales, to help tackle the climate crisis.

• 35 community groups across Wales received a share of £517,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to take environmental action through the Climate Action Boost scheme.
• Play it Again Sport in the Rhondda and Enbarr Foundation CIC in Flintshire are just two of the amazing projects funded by this scheme striving to make their communities greener.
• £26 million has been invested by The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales since 2016 to support environmental good causes.

The scheme covered a variety of environmental activities, namely reducing energy or moving to renewable energy, reducing consumption, increasing local food, and reduced or less impactful travel.

John Rose, Wales Director at The Fund yesterday said:

“We all have a responsibility to protect the climate for future generations and The National Lottery Community Fund is proud to be a significant funder of projects that are taking action on climate change. Since 2016 in Wales, we have awarded £26 million through 386 grants which involved environmental action*, thanks to National Lottery players.

“We believe that community action is a powerful way to engage communities to play their part in addressing global environmental problems, and to respond to the climate emergency. By taking climate action we are not only making significant environmental improvements, but also helping people and communities prosper and thrive, as demonstrated by the great work the Climate Action Boost groups are doing.”

To mark the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, new research from The National Lottery Community Fund** revealed that almost half of Welsh adults (43%) agreed that COP26 will motivate them to take more personal action to combat climate change.

When asked who is responsible for tackling climate change, eight in ten people in Wales (80%) said local communities, while over half (57%) say they are either currently taking part in community-led climate action, or they plan to or will consider doing so in the future.

Click here for the full press release