Supporting people on the frontlines of Climate Change

While the changing climate will ultimately impact everyone, some people are on the climate change “frontlines” – already contending with climate risks to their families and livelihoods. In 2016, the Climate Justice Resilience Fund was created to support these frontline communities and to learn from their leadership in developing climate resilience solutions. The fund takes a human-centred approach that respects people’s rights and addresses the inequities associated with climate change – in other words, a climate justice approach.

The Climate Justice Resilience Fund (CJRF) supports women, youth and indigenous people to adapt and build resilience to their changing climate, and to build movements to advocate on behalf of their communities. It supports grassroots, community-led initiatives to help those on the front lines of climate change reduce risk, manage shocks, rebound and continue on the path to sustainable development. The Fund also seeks to ensure that these communities’ insights into climate resilience inform national- and global-level action and are shared broadly. The CJRF works in East Africa, the Bay of Bengal and the Arctic on four key climate justice issues: food security, water access, sustainable livelihoods and climate-related migration.

The CJRF was created through an Oak Foundation grant of USD 20 million. It is a project of New Venture Fund, a 501©(3) public charity registered in the United States. The CJRF welcomes additional funding partners with aligned interests, and is developing a partnership strategy to increase the size of the fund and its impact.