At London Climate Action Week, we called for greater Global South access to climate finance

The need to transform the international financial architecture so that climate finance reaches communities on the frontlines more directly was at the heart of Pathways for Resourcing Community-Led Climate Solutions: A Multistakeholder Dialogue Promoted by Global South Funds, an event we organized during London Climate Action Week with the support of WINGS, F20, Global Witness, and the Lift Up Philanthropy Fund.

Across two sessions, participants reached a shared conclusion: current financing mechanisms continue to concentrate power and resources, while communities leading adaptation, conservation, and resilience efforts remain with limited access to investment. By examining the challenges embedded in the global financial architecture and questioning the criteria used to define financial risk, participants emphasized that communities delivering significant social and environmental outcomes continue to receive only a small share of climate finance, while decision-making remains concentrated in institutions far removed from the territories they seek to serve. In this context, participants called for stronger Global South-led financing mechanisms that can respond more effectively to local needs and strengthen the leadership of community-based organizations.

Participants also highlighted the urgent need to rethink financial flows that continue to support activities harmful to the climate. There was broad agreement that increasing funding for climate solutions will not be enough unless investments that drive emissions, environmental degradation, and inequality are addressed at the same time. Recent examples of losses caused by extreme climate events further illustrated the gap between existing financial instruments and the realities faced by the world’s most vulnerable countries. The discussion also underscored the importance of bringing these issues into international climate negotiations, emphasizing that stronger collaboration among governments, financial institutions, and civil society organizations is essential for advancing solutions that match the complexity of the climate crisis.

Another session focused on the relationship between power, philanthropy, and climate justice. While participants acknowledged important progress in bringing climate justice into international discussions, they noted that philanthropic funding for climate action still represents only a very small share of global climate finance and remains heavily concentrated in organizations based in the Global North.
Closing the dialogue, representatives of community-based organizations stressed that reconfiguring financial flows is no longer simply a matter of improving efficiency—it has become a matter of survival for millions of people already experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis. The meeting concluded with a clear message: strengthening territory-led financing mechanisms, increasing trust in local organizations, and redistributing power within climate finance governance are essential conditions for delivering a more just and effective climate transition.

Strengthening Territory-Led Climate Solutions

We also participated in Redefining Scale in Climate Action, co-organized by Alliance Magazine and the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA), represented by Juliana Tinoco, Executive Coordinator of the Alianza Socioambiental Fondos del Sur.

Bringing together experts to explore new ways of scaling climate action without losing sight of local realities, the discussion emphasized that scale should not be understood simply as replicating successful models across different contexts. Juliana argued that effective climate solutions must respect the social, cultural, and ecological dynamics of each territory, recognizing the value of diversity, complementarity among initiatives, and the leadership of local communities.

She also stressed the importance of directing resources toward strengthening collaborative ecosystems rather than funding isolated projects alone. This means investing in networks built on trust, solidarity, and mutual learning that can amplify the impact of locally developed solutions.

As an example of this approach, Juliana highlighted the partnership between Fundo Casa Socioambiental and Brazil’s public bank Caixa Econômica Federal. Over a three-year period, the initiative will provide more than US$10 million through public funding calls to support over 400 civil society organizations working in Brazil’s socio-biodiversity economy. The partnership aims to strengthen the broader ecosystem supporting these organizations and generate lasting impacts that extend well beyond both the volume of funding invested and the project’s implementation period.