The National Lottery has this week launched a new £2.5m funding programme for community projects that aim to tackle the climate crisis across the UK.

Launched by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, Together for Our Planet is a funding programme that aims to establish a series of on-going climate action projects in communities across the country that can help the UK reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The programme offers grants between £1,000 and £10,000 for community projects that help tackle emissions in areas such as food, transport, energy, waste, consumption, and the natural environment. Applications for the programme opened on 1st September and close on 18th November, just after the close of the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow.

“COP26 looks set to be a pivotal point in the global response to the climate emergency,” said Nick Gardener, head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund. “Our new funding programme, Together for Our Planet, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, hopes to harness the interest and excitement around this event and support community organisations across the UK to take ongoing action on climate change.

“With this programme we are keen to reach those who are not sure how to take climate action or haven’t before, helping ensure that climate action moves further into the mainstream, and is accessible and relevant to all communities.”

The Together for Our Planet fund will prioritise applications from communities effected most by climate change and asks applicants to meet at least two of five criteria on how the project helps communities tackle the climate crisis in order to be eligible for funding.

Specifically, the fund is looking for projects that support the development of longer-term climate action within communities; encourage communities to plan for the climate emergency; celebrates the importance of community-led climate action and encourages more people to get involved; build resilience in communities that are hardest hit by climate change; and provide jobs, skills or training opportunities for communities which support climate action.

The launch came as the National Lottery Community Fund also this week debuted a new Climate Hub, an online space dedicated to climate action funding news and stories on the environment. The new programme is part of the Community Fund’s Environment Strategy, which has awarded £397m of funding to climate action-related projects since 2016.

Together for Our Planet offers grants between £1,000 and £10,000 for projects that help to foster community-level climate action.