The Climate Change Advocacy Toolkits

These Climate Change Advocacy Toolkits aim to guide and support civil society actors in the South in their efforts to advocate for pro-economically-poor climate policies. The toolkits were developed and published by the Southern Voices on Climate Change programme and are based on the practical experience of civil society organisations associated with the Southern Voices programme from around the world.
As stated in the toolkit, "The world is overheating. Global temperatures are rising, affecting our climate. Poor and marginalised communities are feeling most of the effects of climate change and yet little is being done to support them. Governments are either afraid to take the bold steps that are needed, or they are being dominated by elite interests who are not interested in saving our planet or protecting its people.... We need to ensure that governments in the North and South are held to account for their actions; that the voices of the poor and marginalised are heard by those in power; and that the policies and practices of governments and other actors change to respond to the changes in our climate."
For these reasons, the toolkits have been developed to help organisations plan and deliver effective advocacy to support and protect poor and vulnerable communities from the effects of climate change, and to ensure that their voices are heard by policymakers locally, nationally, and globally.
The set of toolkits include: a mix of instructions on how to plan and conduct advocacy interventions, a range of case stories on how civil society works to influence climate change policy-making, and references for further reading. The following 9 toolkits are available for downloading:
Toolkit 1: Start Here! Introducing Advocacy and the Climate Change Advocacy Toolkits Toolkit 2: Planning Advocacy Toolkit 3: Framing the Debate: Messages and Communication Toolkit 4: Strengthening Advocacy Networks Toolkit 5: Influencing Decision Makers Toolkit 6: Engaging the Public Toolkit 7: Engaging the Media Toolkit 8: Supporting Local Voices Toolkit 9: Policy Implementation & Finance
Since 2011, the Southern Voices on Climate Change programme has supported around 20 civil society networks in the global South to advocate for climate policies that benefit poor and vulnerable people. The programme is implemented by the Climate Capacity Consortium, comprised of four Danish and two international non-governmental organisations, with CARE Denmark as lead agency, and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) as co-publisher of the toolkits. Funding is from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) from the Danish climate finance envelope.