The communities hit hardest by climate change are already building the solutions. The Climate and Equity Lab is learning alongside them and making the case for the systems support that makes their work last.
In Canada, groups made vulnerable by poverty, inadequate housing, and longstanding inequities are feeling the effects of climate change more than others. The Climate and Equity Lab works alongside communities pushed to the margins of the climate crisis — those who contributed to it least and bear its heaviest burden — to understand what resilience looks like from outside conventional systems, and what it needs to last.
The Lab was launched in 2023 by Gore Mutual Foundation, recognizing the lack of investment in understanding the impact of climate change on vulnerable groups. As part of its 25th-anniversary celebration, Gore Mutual Foundation introduced the Equity Acceleration Fund, a $1 million initiative dedicated to supporting charitable organizations in addressing the intersection of poverty, equity, and climate change. The Lab is and a partnership between Gore Mutual, SI Canada, York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, Co-operators, and Peter Gilgan Foundation.
