Project 90 by 2030 (Project 90) was founded out of a deep sense of urgency: the need to radically transform how South Africans engage with the Earth’s systems.
From its inception, the organisation set an ambitious goal, to inspire a 90% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, grounded in the belief that systemic environmental change must be driven by both policy and people.
Early on, Project 90 by 2030 focused on three core strategies:
- influencing energy policy through research and advocacy,
- partnering with communities to implement practical, sustainable solutions,
- nurturing youth leadership to drive a new generation of climate-conscious citizens.
These programmes helped shape national energy conversations, supported communities with renewable energy access and resilience tools, and mobilised young leaders in global and local climate processes.
Today, this foundation has evolved into a more explicitly feminist and intersectional approach to climate justice. Project 90 recognises that climate change does not affect all people equally, and that systems of inequality across gender, race, class, and geography shape both vulnerability and access to solutions. As a result, the organisation’s work increasingly centres the lived experiences and leadership of women, youth, and marginalised communities.
This shift is evident in the Youth Leadership and expanded Community Partnerships programme, which prioritise inclusive participation, care, and empowerment. Young women and gender-diverse leaders are supported not only as participants but as decision-makers, storytellers, and innovators in the energy transition. The organisation’s feminist lens emphasises collaboration over hierarchy, care over extraction, and justice over purely technical solutions.
At the community level, Project 90 continues to address energy access and resilience, but now does so with a stronger focus on equity and dignity. Initiatives integrate social and environmental priorities, linking clean energy with food security, water access, and local livelihoods, while ensuring that community voices guide implementation.
At the policy level, the organisation advocates for a just energy transition that redistributes power and ownership, supports workers and communities, and challenges entrenched inequalities in the energy system. This includes engaging with national planning processes and amplifying grassroots perspectives often excluded from formal decision-making.
Ultimately, Project 90 by 2030 has evolved from a sustainability-focused NGO into a catalyst for systemic transformation, linking climate action with social justice. Its work now advances meaningful change by reducing carbon emissions and challenging the power systems behind environmental degradation and social inequality.
External links:
Website: www.90by2030.org.za
Facebook: Project 90 by 2030 | Cape Town | Facebook
Instagram: Project 90 by 2030 (@project90by2030_) • Instagram photos and videos
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