The challenge: Communities that have contributed least to the climate crisis, particularly in the Global South, are paying the heaviest price. Climate change is driving displacement, hunger, poverty, and fueling conflict and humanitarian crises in developing countries, with the heaviest burden falling on groups already affected by systemic and colonial inequalities, including women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized communities. Yet climate adaptation efforts often reinforce these injustices, as resources are controlled by external actors and local knowledge and leadership are frequently overlooked or excluded.
Our solution: We support adaptation efforts that address climate impacts while tackling the root causes of vulnerability. Our just adaptation approach seeks to actively dismantle systemic inequalities and strengthen communities’ ability to shape their own futures. We believe resilience is strongest when frontline communities have decision-making power and control over resources. That is why we support the Eight Principles of Locally Led Adaptation and advocate for flexible, community-driven financing that empowers local actors to design, lead, and own their adaptation responses.
For example, through mangrove planting projects in Pakistan. Due to climate change local communities are confronted by sea level rise and connected salination of the soil. Mangroves combat climate change by acting as powerful carbon sinks, absorbing vast amounts of CO2 and storing it in their biomass and sediments. They also protect coastlines by stabilizing soil, buffering against storm surges, and reducing erosion, which is vital for coastal communities facing rising sea levels.