The Lewis Foundation Sustainable Finance partnership with WWF South Africa and the National Business Institute identified finance and investment as major levers to give effect to the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient options and investigated opportunities for such in three sectors key to this transition where the partners have expertise: agriculture, electricity and transport. This was Phase I of the partnership. In Phase II, which began in October 2022, the partners embarked on a 2-year project “Brokering climate action hubs”.

The intention of Phase II is to leverage the Phase I foundation of learnings, resources, insights and networks established, to gain traction for implementation initiatives in the three sectors. Phase II will bring the financiers and the implementers together. We propose to pursue these efforts through existing institutional vehicles already predisposed to such implementation. This will multiply the impact of Lewis Foundation monies and provide for longevity beyond the project period.

In Phase II, ‘Brokering climate action hubs’, the partners set up a hub or platform per sector that is fit for that sector, involving real actors relevant to the challenges and with an intrinsic interest in seeking solutions and opportunities.

One of these vehicles is the Alliance for Climate Action South Africa. The Alliance comprises cities and companies which commit to advocating for a South African economy with net-zero emissions by 2050, taking their own action to help get there, and collaborating with each other to achieve more than they could alone. The Alliance currently has over 50 members with big corporates, SMMEs and all five metros being participants.