Across India, the impacts of climate change are deepening existing inequalities – with women, girls, and marginalized communities often facing the greatest consequences. But local leaders are also developing solutions rooted in what their communities know, need, and experience every day. 

Earlier this year, Rise Up Together formally added climate as a core pillar of our work alongside education, health, and economic opportunity. Our recent Lessons at the Intersection of Climate and Gender report highlighted what local leaders have long understood: effective climate solutions must reflect the realities, priorities, and leadership of the communities most affected. 

Now, we’re putting those lessons into action. 

In partnership with the Cummins India Foundation, Rise Up Together launched the Climate Solutions Lab – a new initiative investing in locally led solutions at the intersection of climate and gender equity. 

The Climate Solutions Lab builds on years of investment in local leadership by creating a new opportunity for Rise Up Leaders across India to take their impact further. Alumni leaders were invited to develop projects responding to pressing climate challenges while advancing the rights, opportunities, and leadership of women, girls, and gender-diverse communities. The selected projects will receive funding and technical support to turn bold ideas into action and advance lasting, systems-level change.

The Lab builds on the strength of Rise Up Together’s network of more than 150 leaders across India, whose work has already positively impacted more than 40 million people. After inviting Rise Up Together alumni across India to propose projects at the intersection of gender equity and climate, the response underscored the momentum already building among local leaders. Rise Up Together received 60 proposals, reflecting a wide range of locally led ideas for advancing gender-responsive climate solutions. 

“The level of interest, the diversity of ideas, and the approaches to responding to local priorities and lived realities has been incredibly exciting,” said Rise Up Together India Country Lead Vidhu Prabha. “We hoped to receive around 30 proposals and ultimately heard from 60 alumni leaders with ideas grounded in the realities and priorities of their communities. Selecting just 9 projects was not easy, and we’re thrilled to see these leaders begin putting their solutions into action this September.” 

By investing directly in leaders who understand their communities and the systems they are working to change, the Climate Solutions Lab will help promising local solutions go further – influencing policies, strengthening programs and their implementation, shifting resources, and building more equitable and climate-resilient communities.

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter when we will reveal the selected projects and the inspiring Rise Up Leaders working to turn community-rooted climate solutions into greater gender equity for women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people across India.