In this episode, we’re joined by Justin Sylvester, Senior Strategist for Just Transition at the ClimateWorks Foundation. Justin leads work supporting energy transition initiatives across the Global South, helping to ensure that the shift to clean energy is not only fast, but fair.

We dive into how ClimateWorks is partnering with African organizations to advance justice at the heart of the energy transition, including the Environmental Justice Fund, which strengthens grassroots advocacy for energy democracy, and INSPIRE (the Initiative for Social Performance in Renewable Energy), which helps communities benefit more directly from renewable energy projects.

Justin also shares insight into ClimateWorks’ newly launched 50-million-dollar fund for innovative, community-led adaptation solutions, a major step toward empowering local actors to design and drive their own climate resilience strategies.

From energy justice in South Africa to global collaboration on adaptation, this conversation explores what it means to center people, equity, and participation in the world’s transition to a low-carbon future.

In this episode, we discuss what the Foundations20 recommendations mean for Africa's urban centres. 

Democracy Works Foundation's Climate and Environmental Governance Lead, Raisa Cole, speaks with Ms Zarina Moolla, Head of Implementation (Africa) at C40 Cities. In this role, Zarina works with seven C40 African cities to develop ambitious and robust long-term climate action plans that are compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement.  

In today’s episode, we turn our focus to the Foundations20 (F20) recommendations — a set of proposals designed to strengthen the role of philanthropy and civil society in shaping a just, inclusive, and sustainable global economy. With South Africa’s 2025 G20 Presidency, it's more important than ever to ensure African perspectives are not only heard but actively integrated into global policy agendas.

Joining me to unpack these recommendations and what they mean for climate finance, just transitions, and African priorities in multilateral spaces is Malango Moghogho , the Managing Director of ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance Limited. Malango brings over two decades of experience in banking and development finance, with organisations such as the IFC, Development Bank of Southern Africa, WWF South Africa, ING, and Standard Chartered.