Southern Africa Region Climate Action Network
Committed to combating harmful climate change!
Learn moreAbout us
Southern Africa Region Climate Action Network (SARCAN) is a non-governmental and not for profit organization. SARCAN is a network of member organizations from all over the region committed to combating harmful climate change. This network is based on trust, openness and democracy. It is first a network of organizations brought together by a common concern. The network of independent members of SARCAN act in terms of their own mandates and organizational aims and objects.
The overall objective is to connect, mobilize and influence climate action in the SADC region.
SARCAN’s goal is to promote Government and individual action to limit human induced climate change to ecological sustainable levels. SARCAN members work to achieve this goal through information exchange and the coordinated development of CSO/NGO strategy on international, regional and national climate issues. SARCAN has national network hubs that coordinate these efforts around the region. SARCAN members place a high priority on both a healthy environment and development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the future generations to meet their own needs.
SARCAN Vision
The vision of SARCAN is a world striving actively towards and achieving the protection of the global climate in a manner which promotes equity and social justice between peoples, sustainable development of all communities, and protection of the global environment. SARCAN unites to work towards this vision.
SARCAN Mission Statement
- SARCAN’s mission is to support and empower civil society organizations to influence the design and development of an effective global and local strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure its implementation at international, national and local levels in the promotion of equity and sustainable development
- To protect the atmosphere while allowing for sustainable and equitable development in the SADC region
- Ensuring and realizing socio-economic, environmental and climate resilient
communities which take actions to mitigate climate change impacts whilst using natural resources wisely.
- To organize, support, inspire and co-ordinate its members to take effective action on climate change, either as one global voice, or in the regions where members operate
- To prevent dangerous climate change through awareness and capacity building of governments and citizens worldwide
- To promote, co-ordinate and organize the participation and contributions of nongovernmental organizations in SADC on environmental, social, economic and natural resources development of the SADC region
- To promote and facilitate networking and peer learning in support of multi-sectorial, trans-boundary accelerated implementation of continental sustainable and climate resilience program
- To promote and support all environmental, social, political and economic activities by organizations aiming at the benefit of a substantial or significant part of the African community including a special focus on such other activities that are meant to promote directly or indirectly, the well being of the disadvantaged groups of the community including women and children
- To promote and facilitate the interaction, consultations and exchange of information and experiences among all regional CSOs & NGOs and relevant institutions, including government and to promote the linking up of organizations with any international and bilateral bodies for the purposes of furthering the above objectives
- To protect the global climate from dangerous human interference.
- To be the conscience of the world concerning issues of climate change
- To promote the protection of the global climate from dangerous human interference; and so to facilitate the radical transformation in the way we use resources, the land and energy
- To prioritize sustainable development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
- Empower poor and vulnerable communities to speak directly in a way that is effectively heard, about the negative impact of climate change on their ways of life, about its potential for conflict, and about what ought to be done by way of a response, in terms of fairness and justice
- To undertake a broad based lobby and advocacy program or strategy with the intention of improving policies formulation and legislative enactment by the Governments in the African continent, raising awareness on issues pertinent to the fulfilment of SARCAN’s objectives and affecting social change through press releases, press conferences, news articles, media campaigns, face-to-face meetings with decision makers, informal contacts at receptions, and working visits with decision-makers
- To affiliate and partner with any regional, international, continental or bilateral bodies as the Board of Directors may decide and which affiliation is consistent with and for the purpose of furthering the above objectives.
Strategy on Building Power and
Action on Climate in Southern Africa
2021 to 2025
1. Catalyzing transformative change
What this means
This strategy will present the alternative solutions to the current systems that are causing the climate and social crisis, and would include the work we do around climate action plans, renewables, financial markets’ systemic change, just transition, building resilient communities and cities, addressing social injustice and inequalities, amongst others.
1.1 Just Transition to a credible society
SARCAN will work towards supporting the development of demands, taking into account the needs and priorities of local communities and civil society stakeholders in their work for a Just Transition, including sustainable livelihoods and decent jobs that ensure gender and social equity. The
work on the Just Transition will not only focus on sectors and communities that need to be shifted away from fossil fuels (e.g. production and consumption of coal), but will also need to address those sectors in the economy and society already impacted by climate impacts (e.g. agriculture, tourism etc.).
1.2 Building of resilient, safe, equitable, ecologically healthy and just societies, cities and economies
SARCAN will therefore unite its network to clearly define and realize the fundamental role and space Civil society and communities hold in developing, shaping and creating radically transformative societies that are
based on community-driven values for societies that are socially sustainable, equitable, respective of human rights and ecologically healthy.
As part of this work we will challenge conventional solutions that reinforce
broken societal systems and instead bring about and support the development of bottom-up driven solutions as credible and sustainable alternatives.
2. Shutting Dirty Down
What this means
This will include all the work on fossil fuels, false solutions, big agriculture, and other polluting sectors. It also includes working against the rise of autocratic, right wing governments, organizations and media.
2.1 Ending public and private investment and government support for Fossil fuels and false solutions
SARCAN will support advocacy and campaigning by its Members, Nodes and other partners and coalitions with regards to ending investments in the production and consumption of fossil fuels.
In addition, SARCAN will oppose technologies, interventions and policies by governments and corporations that are being promoted under the guise of low/zero/net negative carbon and are either smokescreens that do not contribute to a 1.5° C pathway and leads to other unacceptable problems to the environment and society, such as for food security, biodiversity and injustice to vulnerable people.
3. Building power through movements
What this means
The Power we want to build is the capability to influence, drive and/or push SARCAN agenda and mission. Power will be built through 3 pillars that are: To mobilise likeminded players in the climate change agenda and nexus issues, to connect with stakeholders who share same vision with SARCAN and lastly to influence power holders from local level to regional level. It will involve building on the lived experiences and knowledge of communities on the ground, and about
people on the ground building the ways and means to make their voices heard. Building power is therefore not an act of building the power of people, but about organizing among people to help unleash the power and agency that already exists
Pillar 1. Mobilizations/mobilizers
SARCAN will mobilize stakeholders from national level to regional level
making sure that they also join the network.
Pillar 2. Connect
SARCAN will tuning into voices on the ground and collaborating with them to bring them into regional and international spaces Supporting and/or developing tactical campaigns together with those concerned voices from crisis-impacted communities.
Pillar 3. Influence
Fore fronting voices from crisis-impacted communities
4. Multilateral Policy and Advocacy
What this means
This includes all the work we do in the
UNFCCC as well as other multilateral fore
such as the G7 and G20, IMF/World Bank
meetings, CBD etc.
Get in touch with us
Office 13, First Floor, Zapalala Building
86 Herbet Chitepo Street • Bulawayo
+263 71 567 8123 (ZIM)
+27 79 784 5417 (SA)