Climate Justice Is Local: India’s NGOs Leading from the Ground Up

As floods wash away homes and heatwaves scorch fields, India’s rural poor face a climate crisis they didn’t create. Ranked as the 7th most climate-vulnerable country globally (Germanwatch, 2021), the country’s most affected communities are often the least heard.

While global negotiations dominate headlines, it’s local NGOs that quietly shape resilience on the ground - integrating climate action into everyday development efforts.

Climate Change Is a Justice Issue

Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it’s a justice issue.

Its impacts fall hardest on the poorest communities - those who contribute the least to global emissions but bear the brunt of rising temperatures, floods, and droughts. For NGOs, linking climate action with social equity ensures that vulnerable groups - farmers, women, and tribal communities - are not left behind in the transition.

Non-profits are uniquely positioned to weave climate adaptation into community development because of their deep local trust, contextual understanding, and participatory approach.

So how do grassroots organizations rise to the challenge? Through hyper-local, people-powered solutions that protect both people and planet.

Strategies NGOs Use

• Community-Led Adaptation: Training local communities to design disaster preparedness plans ensures faster, more inclusive responses during floods or cyclones - tailored to local realities.

• Climate-Smart Livelihoods: Organizations are empowering rural women with solar engineering skills - reducing carbon footprints while creating long-term, dignified income opportunities.

• Health & Climate Nexus: NGOs are piloting heat-health early warning systems in Indian states, helping protect slum populations and outdoor workers from extreme temperatures.

NGOs play a pivotal role in driving climate justice by combining context-specific adaptation with social equity, ensuring solutions that protect both people and planet.

Grassroots Climate Adaptation in Action

1. Indigenous Women Leading Climate Mapping in Odisha

In Odisha, Adivasi women have partnered with an NGO to create “dream maps” - visual representations of their villages in an ecologically balanced state. These maps support participatory planning and foster environmental stewardship.

2. Women Solar Engineers Bring Light and Dignity

NGOs like Barefoot College are training women from remote villages in Rajasthan and Manipur to become solar engineers. These women now electrify their communities - lighting homes, enabling night-time learning, powering micro-enterprises - while advancing gender equity and environmental justice.

3. Bridging Policy and Practice

As India advances its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, scaling these NGO-led models could be a game-changer. They bridge the gap between policy and practice, translating national goals into ground-level action that is proactive, inclusive, and people-centered.

NGOs are creating holistic models of resilience by combining technology, sustainable livelihoods, and climate strategies - all while placing communities at the heart of the response.

At Forward Impact, We Believe…

Real climate action begins on the ground. We’re proud to partner with NGOs and funders advancing climate justice where it matters most - in rural, tribal, and vulnerable communities across India.

Because when communities lead, the climate wins.

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Sources: The Guardian, AP News