Grants available for rural and regional solution-based projects to take climate action

A range of grants are available to support community-driven projects and solutions which focus on reducing emissions and transitioning to renewable energy. Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal announced up to $625,000 will be available for remote, rural and regional communities initiatives offering environmentally sustainable solutions. FRRR climate solutions portfolio lead Sarah Matthee said addressing the impacts of a changing climate required a long-term outlook, backed by local solutions. “Local people can be best-placed to lead just transitions and we are here to actively support rural communities in this process,” she said. The FRRR Community Led Climate Solutions program is offering grants to non-for-profit organisations in two streams. Stream one offers grants for local projects on reducing emissions to benefit their community for up to $20,000 and, for projects scaling locally-led initiatives, grants from $20,001 to $75,0000 are available. “The strong response from local groups to the first round of the program emphasised the active role that rural communities want to play in initiatives that capitalise on cleaner and more sustainable climate solutions that will benefit local people,” Ms Matthee said. Grants can be used by communities to educate locals and adopt clean energy practices, implement low carbon power sources, and embrace reuse and regenerative practices. Funding is also available to groups and solution-orientated projects which deliver sustainable agriculture and food systems, encourage biodiverse ecosystems, and support the livelihoods of people reliant on industries in transition. FRRR focus on supporting the social and economic needs of rural and regional communities to build resilient outcomes for people. Since 2000, FRRR has delivered more than $177 million to more than 14,000 projects.