Addressing inequality with grants that fund climate action
There is no climate justice without social justice: action at the city level is critical to achieving both. Through grants, technical support, and policy guidance, the C40 Inclusive Climate Action (ICA) Fund helps cities:
- Embed inclusion, equity, and accessibility in climate policies and projects.
- Strengthen local partnerships with workers, women, youth, and marginalised communities.
- Share lessons and raise visibility for those leading just, inclusive transitions.
How cities are turning the ICA Fund into action
Six cities across four continents received grants during the first round of the ICA Fund, delivering a range of cross-sectoral projects between 2023 and 2024. From informal waste worker capacity-building to cooling vests for residents with disabilities, each project was designed with equity and inclusion principles at its core, supporting cities to deliver climate actions that address inequality.
In 2024, C40 launched the second round of the ICA Fund in the form of the Inclusive Water Resilience Accelerator Fund (IWRAF), a partnership between C40’s Resilience and Inclusive Climate Action programmes. This second funding round supports six cities to strengthen urban water management and increase resilience to climate-induced water stress and excess.
Each city is prioritising fair, inclusive solutions that reach the frontline communities hit hardest by water challenges. Grantee cities are delivering their projects throughout 2025 and 2026.
2024 Inclusive Water Resilience Accelerator Fund
Learn how Dakar is improving access to sustainable and inclusive water and sanitation in public schools
Learn how Freetown is developing safe rainwater harvesting solutions to reduce water scarcity
Learn how Lagos is creating a community-based early warning system to predict, monitor, and respond to flood events
Learn how Quito is strengthening local and city-level systems for safe water management and distribution during emergencies and disaster scenarios
Learn how Rio de Janeiro is creating a community-based early flood warning system to protect low-income, frontline communities
Learn how São Paulo is improving environmental education to help residents become active environmental educators and build water resilience within their communities
2023 ICA FUND GRANT
Bogotá has trained women to join the workforce as e-bus drivers, promoting inclusive good, green jobs and strengthening the city’s just and green transition.
Dar es Salaam is enhancing the city’s organic waste management practices through worker engagement, and inclusive planning and implementation.
Los Angeles is taking on the challenge of transitioning from relying on the local fossil fuel industry and oil wells to greener energy sources and jobs, ensuring no one is left behind in the process.
Quezon City developed an interactive storybook to promote environmental education among the next generation in an inclusive and accessible way, and is empowering children and young people with disabilities to be a part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Vancouver is taking action to support the city’s most heat-vulnerable residents during times of extreme heat, helping to alleviate the unequal burden of climate crisis impacts on communities.
Warsaw is tackling energy poverty for low-income residents through its Carbon-neutral and Affordable Retrofits for Everyone in Need (CARE) project.
What the ICA Fund provides
Supporting cities to implement equitable climate action
Financial support
Grant funding to develop and pilot inclusive climate projects that might not otherwise secure resources or political backing.
Technical and policy guidance
Access to C40 expertise on just transition frameworks, community engagement strategies, and measuring equity outcomes alongside climate impacts.
Global platform
Connection to peer cities implementing similar work, visibility for successful projects, and opportunities to influence how climate action addresses inequality.
Why inclusive climate action matters
Climate justice requires social justice
The climate crisis is not only an environmental issue. It is also linked to inequality, as low-income and marginalised communities are often more affected by the impacts of climate breakdown.
The C40 ICA Fund is part of C40’s Inclusive Climate Action Programme. supporting mayors in putting equity and inclusion at the heart of climate policies and all other urban decision-making.
This means considering who will benefit from specific policies, who might be negatively affected, and ensuring co-benefits reach the communities that need them most. In practice, this could mean:
- Implementing policies to improve air quality in low-income neighbourhoods with the worst pollution.
- Creating good green jobs accessible to women, young people, and marginalised communities.
- Increasing access to affordable, sustainable transportation in underserved areas.
- Designing climate solutions that address both environmental and social challenges.
Explore inclusive climate action in practice
The Inclusive Climate Action Implementation Guide outlines a practical framework for integrating inclusion into climate projects. It shows how cities are embedding inclusive policies across sectors to deliver fair outcomes for all residents.
How the Inclusive Climate Action Fund and the Inclusive Climate Action Forum work together
The Inclusive Climate Action Forum provides a peer-to-peer learning platform through which ICA Fund grantee cities can connect and exchange knowledge with other ICA Forum member cities around the world. ICA Fund cities share insights and learnings from their innovative climate action projects, helping more cities benefit from proven approaches.
Resources
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Cities worldwide are proving that climate action is most successful when equity and fairness are at the heart of every decision.
C40 connects cities through peer learning to deliver climate action that advances equity and justice
