New project to champion underrepresented voices in environmental debate

NPC have announced funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for a project to amplify the voices of people and communities most impacted by climate change. These voices are often the least heard from in national and local debates on our environment. This new work aims to change that.

The project will:

• support 180 smaller charities to represent their communities and influence policy. These charities work with Disabled people, people on low incomes, and people from ethnic minority communities in England and Scotland.
• train 60 Champions from underrepresented groups to effectively advocate for change in the media.
• publish new research on the impacts of climate change, nature loss, and government environmental policies on women and girls, and the LGBTQ+ community.

The new work builds on NPC’s Everyone’s Environment programme on the social impacts of climate change and nature loss. It will apply the national Everyone’s Environment model to work with local charities.

The project will be delivered through an exciting new partnership between NPC, the Race Equality Foundation, Disability Rights UK, Turn2us, Media Trust, and Hope for the Future.

Thanks to National Lottery players, Diverse Voices has received £1,493,760.62 over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.

This comes from the Climate Action Fund, a £100 million commitment over 10 years from The National Lottery Community Fund to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change and involve more people in climate action.

NPC’s Head of Policy and External Affairs Leah Davis said:

“Environmental change hits some of the most disadvantaged people the hardest, and we simply don’t hear enough from these people and communities. This work aims to change that.

Empowering diverse voices in policy and the media can transform the conversation. And working directly with local charities means communities get the support they need to respond to the consequences of environmental change.

We’re proud to be delivering this work in partnership with so many great charities and are grateful to National Lottery players for making this initiative possible.”

Disability Rights UK CEO Kamran Mallick said:

“We know through our policy work that Disabled people will be amongst the hardest hit by a changing climate and that is why this partnership with NPC is so important to highlight the issue.

There are more than 1 billion Disabled people in the world. However, we currently have no input into policy, discussions and environmental solutions, meaning that laws, policies, and programmes don’t consider the needs of Disabled people or the impact of proposed change.

We need to be recognised and involved as the facts are that Disabled people are twice as likely as any other group to die in disasters. We know that environmental pollution is creating childhood disability, impairing children’s health, and reducing their life chances, and we know that higher temperatures are more likely to affect people with disabilities or pre-existing conditions that limit the body’s ability to stay cool.

By working with NPC, we are confident we will begin to see an end to “eco-ableism” and begin to educate the wider world on the need for co-operation.”

Turn2Us CEO Tom Lawson said:

“At Turn2us, we’re proud to be part of the Diverse Voices project and excited to work alongside our partners to make sure underrepresented voices are heard in the environmental debate.

This initiative fits perfectly with our mission to tackle financial insecurity and ensure people with lived experience are crucially part of these important conversations.”

Media Trust CEO Su-Mei Thompson said:

“At a time when time is running out to save our planet, we urgently need to ensure that charities representing marginalised communities have a stronger voice in the climate debate.

Low-income groups contribute the least to causing climate change but are likely to be the most impacted both by its effects, as well as by government policies for increases in transport costs, carbon taxes and plastic levies. In this context, the lack of representation of Black, ethnic minority and disabled perspectives in the climate debate is concerning.

At Media Trust, we’re delighted to be part of this important project that will deliver tangible change for the environment and diverse communities across the UK.”

Hope for the Future CEO Laura D’Henin-Ivers said:

“Too often, decision makers are hearing from the same people about the same issues. For democracy to truly work, and for climate change to reach the top of the agenda once again, it’s vital that everyone has a say in decision making which affects their day to day lives.

We’re really excited to be part of this project, and provide support to representatives from marginalised communities to meaningfully influence policy.”

This article was originally posted on NPC’s website.