Rockefeller Foundation Awards JUTI Grant to Deliver Bangkok Climate Action Week

• Grant funding to support establishment of coalition to deliver Bangkok Climate Action Week (BKKCAW)
• Rockefeller Foundation's continued support for BKKCAW aims to strengthen locally-led climate action

BANGKOK, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation today announced a US$300,000 grant to the Just Transitions Incubators (JUTI) to form a diverse, multistakeholder coalition to deliver its flagship initiative, the Bangkok Climate Action Week (BKKCAW) in 2026 and 2027. BKKCAW 2026 will take place from October 3–11, 2026. This grant will enable JUTI to strengthen BKKCAW as a coalition-driven platform for climate action by building a broad-based movement, formalizing governance to enhance accountability and shared ownership, and improving systems for stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, partnerships, and learning. Bringing together a wide range of public institutions, civil society and community organizations, philanthropic actors, private sector partners, and research and knowledge institutions, coalition members are united in advancing climate solutions for people and planet.

"The Bangkok Climate Action Week is opportunity to build momentum behind the solutions, people, and organizations helping improve life for vulnerable people in Southeast Asia," said Deepali Khanna, Senior Vice President and Head of Asia at The Rockefeller Foundation. "By supporting BKKCAW, The Rockefeller Foundation is helping JUTI bring together governments, communities, researchers, philanthropies, and businesses around shared opportunities and shared challenges. BKKCAW brings diverse voices together to strengthen regional cooperation and turn local ideas into practical action that improves people's lives, strengthens resilience, and supports a healthier planet."

The grant will contribute to improving the well-being of people and planet in Southeast Asia by strengthening locally led climate action ecosystems, deepening collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and improving follow-through on initiatives emerging from BKKCAW. It will also help shift public and policy narratives by increasing the visibility of climate and development approaches that are relevant to Southeast Asia and more clearly linking climate action with jobs, resilience, and inclusive growth. At the regional level, a key outcome will be stronger cross-border learning, deeper cooperation among Asian climate actors, and wider South–South exchange on practical climate solutions, alongside improved policy alignment and stronger access to community insight, resources, technical expertise, and implementation support.

"Rather than episodic convenings, climate action in Southeast Asia requires long-term ecosystem stewardship," said Leo Horn-Phathanothai OBE, Founder and Convenor of Bangkok Climate Action Week. "By strengthening locally led ecosystems, shifting climate narratives, and deepening regional cooperation, the coalition will create the foundation for climate action that is more ambitious, more inclusive, and responsive to the realities of Southeast Asia."

The Rockefeller Foundation supported the inaugural BKKCAW in 2025, helping establish it as a credible platform for multi-stakeholder engagement and locally led climate action. BKKCAW is especially significant this year as it helps build momentum for climate leadership in Thailand ahead of the World Bank and IMF meetings in October 2026.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.

The Just Transitions Incubator (JUTI)

The Just Transitions Incubator (JUTI) was established in January 2025 with the mission to empower transformative local action driving a just transition to a green, inclusive, climate-safe future in Southeast Asia. JUTI focuses on nurturing change agents, orchestrating mission-based collaboration and driving behavioral change through narrative shifts to unlock the agency of economic, political, cultural actors in the region and localize ambitious climate and nature action. Beyond moving individual actors to bold action, the aim is to forge new constellations of action, strengthening ecosystems for sustained, locally led change.

Bangkok Climate Action Week (BKKCAW) is JUTI's flagship initiative and already a leading platform for locally led climate action in Southeast Asia. BKKCAW was designed as a community-anchored convening, where local organizations, grassroots groups, creatives, and civic actors serve as co-creators rather than passive participants. The platform functions as an ecosystem-building mechanism that convenes and mobilizes diverse stakeholders including civil society, funders, private sector actors, and policymakers, around shared climate and development priorities, and creates entry points to connect local solutions to broader policy and implementation processes.

SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation