European Climate Foundation

We're pleased to support the launch of the Resilient Futures Open Call! Together with the Better Politics Fund, Naia Trust and the Vibe Fund, ECF is co-funding a new initiative to support non-partisan projects working at the intersection of democratic political leadership and climate resilience globally. The call will provide funding for innovative ideas and emerging initiatives that help strengthen leadership, governance and climate resilience in diverse regional contexts. 📅 Applications for Ideation Grants close on 4 September 2026. 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dGUt-VBF

Today, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Marilia Bezerra, who is stepping down from the ECF Supervisory Board. Over the past 3 years, her insight, generosity, and commitment have been invaluable to our work and mission. We are deeply grateful for her contributions and wish her every success in the years ahead continuing her role as Chief Program Officer at IKEA Foundation. 

Ukraine is being rebuilt, community by community. 🇺🇦 Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, #Ukraine has faced unprecedented destruction. By the end of 2025, reconstruction and recovery needs exceeded €500 billion over the next decade. While national efforts are critical, it’s clear that recovery must also come from the ground up. At the local level, communities are stepping up, but they need the right tools, knowledge and support. Our work focuses on empowering Ukrainian municipalities to rebuild better:  ✅ Training local leaders in sustainable and climate-friendly urban development ✅ Supporting strategic, community-led planning ✅ Connecting municipalities with expertise and partners ✅ Strengthening the ability to attract and manage reconstruction funding We’ve seen firsthand the power of exposure to real-life solutions, “better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”  That is why we support community ambassadors who champion local initiatives, engage with public authorities, and help ensure that reconstruction efforts are locally owned. At the same time, we advocate at the European level for recovery instruments, including the Ukraine Facility, to better support community-led, bottom-up approaches to rebuilding. Rebuilding Ukraine isn’t just about restoring what was lost; it’s also about creating stronger, greener and more resilient communities for the future. See our full news article here. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/es2KaC5z

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the climate transition has entered a new phase. Clean technologies are increasingly the economic choice, investment continues to shift, and renewed international cooperation at COP30 are reminders that momentum endures. Yet 2025 also showed that the context is changing. Economic pressures, geopolitical instability, and growing concerns around affordability, security and competitiveness are reshaping how climate action is discussed and delivered. Across Europe, the transition is increasingly judged on a simple question: can it improve people's daily lives while strengthening resilience and prosperity? In this environment, collaboration matters more than ever. Progress depends on connecting action across sectors, countries and communities, and on ensuring that climate solutions are practical, fair and grounded in real-world delivery. The challenge is no longer simply ambition; it is implementation. Looking ahead, keeping the spirit of Paris alive will depend on our collective ability to translate long-term goals into tangible benefits for people and communities, while maintaining the partnerships and cooperation that make progress possible. We are introducing our 2025 Annual Report, which reflects on this and what it takes to sustain momentum in a more contested world. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eeg_JxSU

Today, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to laurence Breton-Moyet for her leadership and contributions to the European Climate Foundation. Since joining the ECF in 2021, Laurence, serving as Managing Director, has played a pivotal role in helping the organisation evolve during a time of rapid change and increasing complexity. Over the past years, her leadership has helped to translate a bold vision into practice. She has been instrumental in advancing more integrated, place-based approaches to climate action and ensuring that our strategies are grounded in real-world political, economic and social contexts. Beyond structures and strategy, Laurence has consistently championed diversity of perspectives, creativity and a systems-approach mindset. As her secondment comes to an end, we are grateful for her commitment, her boundless energy and the lasting mark she has left on the ECF. We wish Laurence all the very best as she returns to Agence Française de Développement. 👏 👏 👏

How can we unlock the power of faith for climate justice? In Brazil and Nigeria, climate impacts are intensifying, yet one powerful climate action lever has long been underutilized: faith communities. With support from ECF’s Global Initiatives funding, GreenFaith has helped transform fragmented faith engagement into a coordinated, cross‑faith movement for climate justice. In 2024, our work proved what’s possible. We convened diverse Brazilian faith leaders across traditions, we established the Sacred Climate Alliance, we then secured direct engagement with Brazil’s Minister of the Environment. Lastly, we demonstrated that faith voices can influence national climate debates Since then, momentum has grown. We have scaled our organizing across Brazil and Nigeria in the past year, as well as given training to religious leaders in advocacy and media engagement. This work shows that faith leaders can become credible, influential climate advocates. When they are equipped and connected, they can not just bring moral authority, but also a grassroots reach that pushes for equitable, net‑zero aligned policies. ECF’s role has been catalytic in providing flexible funding and continuity to turn short-term mobilisation into a durable global movement. After all, the lesson is clear: climate action is stronger when it is inclusive, grounded in lived experience, and rooted in shared values of justice. Read more about this on our site. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dD3Vs2SD

We’re proud to support initiatives that bring people back into meaningful dialogue. In Czechia, the CzeXperiment project is showing how facilitated, face-to-face conversations can bridge divides – even on polarising topics. This YouTube series brings together people with opposing views on Ukraine to take part in a structured citizens’ dialogue. The outcome was something powerful. Participants who started on opposite sides found common ground—not by debating facts, but by sharing a simple, human truth: a shared fear of war. That moment shifted the conversation, opening the door to empathy, mutual understanding and, ultimately, a joint recommendation delivered to the President of the Czech Senate. This is what participation looks like in practice: ✅ Constructive conversations across divides. ✅ Real-world impact beyond the room. ✅ New grassroots initiatives emerging from lived experience. With over 5.8 million organic views and a young, highly engaged audience, CzeXperiment is proving that civic debate and participation, when done well, can reconnect people with each other and with decision-making. This work is a joint effort by the European Climate Foundation (ECF), Blíž k sobě Foundation and Kladné nuly foundation, demonstrating the power of collaboration in strengthening participatory democracy. At ECF, we’re proud to support this work as part of our efforts to strengthen participatory democracy and build momentum towards a future Czech Citizens’ Assembly. 📺 You can watch the film that came out yesterday and see how dialogue can turn division into action: https://lnkd.in/eeaiiJGv 🇨🇿 The video is in Czech – make sure to switch on automatic English subtitles.

In 2012, Kraków faced one of Europe’s worst urban air‑quality crises. Behind the choking smog were more than 30,000 coal‑fired household stoves, responsible for the vast majority of local particulate pollution and an estimated 95% of carcinogenic emissions, calculated at levels ten times above EU safety thresholds. Today, the air quality in Kraków is a different story. What changed? With long‑term support from ECF and funders like the Clean Air Fund, Kraków Smog Alert helped drive:  ✅ A citywide coal ban ✅ Removal of ~30,000 dirty stoves ✅ Durable local and regional air‑quality laws How did they do it? Residents marched, protested, and demanded their fundamental right to breathe clean air. Doctors, scientists, artists, and journalists joined forces, reframing smog from an environmental nuisance into a public health emergency. In 2015 the Polish Smog Alert (PSA) was created: an umbrella NGO for around 70 local clean air groups that advocates for national regulations and programmes.  Additionally, the European Climate Foundation (ECF) played a critical role by consistently supporting both KSA and PAS over more than a decade. The impact is real. New research suggests these changes in Kraków have already saved around 6,000 lives. This wasn’t just a local win. This has become a model for citizen‑led climate and health action, now inspiring work across Poland and Central & Eastern Europe. See the full story here. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eAEnErTv

📣 We're hiring at the European Climate Foundation!   We are seeking an exceptional leader to serve as our next Chief Executive Officer. We’re looking for a leader with:   🔹A proven track record in senior leadership roles within complex, international environments. 🔹Strong strategic and political acumen. 🔹Experience engaging with high-level stakeholders across sectors. 🔹A demonstrated ability to deliver impact at scale.   This is a great opportunity to help steer Europe’s climate transition towards net-zero future.   An ideal candidate will shape and deliver ECF’s strategic vision at a critical time for climate leadership and be able to engage at the highest levels across government, philanthropy, and the private sector. An ideal candidate will also act as a connector across a complex ecosystem, aligning stakeholders to drive systemic change as well as be able to lead a diverse, international organisation, fostering an inclusive and high-performing culture.   ECF is a major philanthropic initiative working at the forefront of the transition to a net-zero emissions society, supporting over 700 partners across civil society, academia, business and beyond. As a field catalyst, ECF helps drive ambitious climate policy and fosters a people-centred, socially responsible transition.   📌 The Hague, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, London, Madrid, Paris, or Warsaw. 🗓 Deadline: 5 June 2026 🔗 https://lnkd.in/enKKCBZP   If you or someone in your network could be a great fit, we would love to hear from you.