Between March and May 2024, The Social Investment Consultancy conducted an evaluation to understand the continued impact of the Climate Connection programme, with a specific focus on 2023–24 and COP28.
The Climate Connection in 2023–24
Building on our support of COP26 and COP27, the Climate Connection delivered an ambitious programme of events and activities for COP28, including hosting the British Council Pavilion, which provided a space to showcase and amplify our partners’ work.
This was backed by our global programmes and partnerships to inspire climate action and directly support arts and cultural organisations, educators, academics and young people through grants, in-person and online activities and climate teaching resources.
Our continued impact
Since 2020, the Climate Connection has directly engaged with and benefited 22 million people, reaching more than 200 countries and territories and connecting with 7,500 partners.
Continuing this legacy, during COP28 we:
- connected with over 32,000 people at more than 30 events and provided platforms to young people, early-career researchers and communities affected by climate change
- inspired over 50,000 teachers, educators and young people through online activities, courses and resources
- reached an estimated audience of 200 million people through online, print and broadcast content.
Throughout 2023–24, we continued to:
- help people gain the knowledge and skills to act on climate change, including 477,829 people through our TeachingEnglish climate-themed content, 25,000 people through our Living for a Sustainable Future online course and 3,400 teachers through our Climate Action in Language Education course
- support young people and youth networks, including funding grassroots community projects led by young people to scale up their impact, running climate simulation events for 500 students in the UK and UAE, supporting the Climate Youth Negotiators network to train 175 young people from 54 countries, supporting a delegation of young climate activists from South Asia to attend COP28, and partnering with YOUNGO to help deliver COY18
- support the arts and cultural sectors respond to climate change, including awarding grants to creative projects in 17 countries across Middle East and North Africa and commissioning 12 comic artists to showcase voices from the Arab world
- support innovative climate research, including partnering with Cambridge University and the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities to provide new scholarship and fellowship opportunities to early-career researchers from low- and middle-income countries
- provide new insights into climate action, by partnering with University College London and University of the Arts London to develop pioneering global research pieces.
Strengthening partnerships and widening participation
Throughout 2023–24 we continued to focus on strong partnership work by engaging with 28 partnering organisations (including eight new partnerships) to strengthen and support their work though our reach, networks and capacity building support.
We also continued to prioritise those usually excluded from climate discussions, including women and girls, young people, those with disabilities, indigenous people, people from different socio-economic backgrounds and those disproportionately affected by climate change.