From Commitments to Communities: Rethinking Climate Finance: How civil society and community participation strengthen accountability, access and equity

Overview

The climate crisis is accelerating, but climate finance is still not reaching the people who need it most. Despite repeated promises and global commitments, funding remains inadequate, fragmented, and too often locked in top-down systems that ignore local realities.
Communities on the frontlines and civil society actors are too often shut out of decisions that directly affect their lives — excluded from planning, budgeting, and access to finance itself. This must change.
Real climate justice demands finance that is accessible, equitable, and driven by the voices of those most impacted.
Drawing on 21 studies from across the Global South, this report exposes systemic barriers in climate finance and shines a light on what works. It highlights how civil society is already driving change, and sets out clear, practical recommendations to make climate finance more accountable, inclusive, and rooted in community realities.