Fostering Inclusive Growth Through Climate Change Champions

The FIGCCC project, funded by the European Union, aims to create synergies between local governments, civil society organisations (CSO’s), and Independent Power Producers to address climate change collaboratively.

By integrating public and private development priorities with community-driven climate action, this approach aims to enhance the impact of climate change mitigation efforts.

The FIGCCC project, led by Democracy Works Foundation, has been actively working with CSOs and local governments across four municipalities in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces. One significant outcome has been the formation of the Climate Justice Action Network, a coalition of CSOs advocating for the inclusion of their constituencies in climate-related decision-making processes. Additionally, the project has facilitated climate change planning at the municipal level, exemplified by the co-creation of Needs Assessments and Response Plans in the Witzenberg municipality.

In 2024, INSPIRE and KD Strategies joined the FIGCCC project with a targeted contribution focused on strengthening engagement between IPPs, public sector stakeholders and CSOs, with the goal of evaluating alignment of development priorities across sectors and exploring how climate mitigation investments can support community resilience and locally driven climate adaptation.

This final phase of the project had three core objectives:

The work culminated in the publication of three key reports and an opinion series to share insights more broadly. The project’s outputs now serve as a blueprint for more inclusive, integrated climate action planning at the local level in South Africa.