The Climate Action Fund (CAF) aims to empower frontline communities to combat climate change by keeping fossil fuels in the ground, thus providing a grassroots alternative to carbon offset programs. These communities, often volunteer-based and resource-scarce, face significant health, social, and environmental challenges due to their proximity to fossil fuel extraction sites and large greenhouse gas emitters.
The Climate Action Fund awards small grants to community groups actively fighting against the extraction of fossil fuels and the construction of major greenhouse gas emissions sources. The grant program supports two main types of projects: local resistance against fossil fuel extraction (including coal, tar sands, oil, and gas) and efforts to prevent or decommission large sources of greenhouse gas emissions, defined as sources emitting over 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. This initiative is part of a broader effort to protect millions of acres of forest, keep massive amounts of carbon in the ground, and uphold the rights and self-determination of local communities worldwide.