A new £1.5m project will support 180 small charities working with under-represented groups to influence green policy and champion diverse voices in the climate change debate.

The project will be delivered through a partnership between the think tank New Philanthropy Capital and the charities the Race Equality Foundation, Disability Rights UK, Turn2us, Media Trust and Hope for the Future.

The programme, which is part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s Diverse Voices workstream, has been funded by £1.5m from the grantmaker, which will be distributed to the partnership over three years.

This workstream stems from the NLCF’s Climate Action Fund, a £100m commitment over 10 years to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change.

The project, which will run from March 2025 to March 2028, will support 180 small charities to represent their communities and influence policy. 

These charities work with disabled people, people on low incomes and people from ethnic minority communities, NPC said.

The funding will also support a scheme to train 60 ‘champions’ from under-represented groups to effectively advocate for change in the media. 

As part of the project, the partnership will publish new research on the effects of climate change, nature loss and government environmental policies on women and girls, as well as on the LGBTQ+ community.

The work builds on the think tank’s Everyone’s Environment programme, a collaboration of more than 80 social and environmental charities that seeks to accelerate action on the social impacts of climate change.

Under the project, the national Everyone’s Environment model will be applied to work with local charities, NPC said.

A spokesperson for NPC said that there will be an application process in place for the small-charity support and the champions training, with further details yet to be announced.

Leah Davies, head of policy and external affairs at NPC, 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.”

Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, said: “We know through our policy work that disabled people will be among the hardest-hit by a changing climate and that is why this partnership with NPC is so important to highlight the issue.”

He said that although there are more than one billion disabled people in the world, “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”.

Mallick said: “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.”

Su-Mei Thompson, chief executive of the Media Trust, said: “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.”