Assessing intersectional inequities in climate finance across Atlantic Canada

Abstract Climate change poses acute risks to Atlantic Canada’s communities, economies, and ecosystems, yet access to climate finance across the region remains deeply uneven. This study examines intersectional inequities in the distribution and access to government and philanthropic climate finance in Atlantic Canada, with a primary case study of Nova Scotia. Drawing on an intersectional climate justice framework, the study analyzes qualitative data from 22 semi-structured interviews with philanthropic funders, municipal and provincial government officials, and NGO representatives, supplemented by document analysis of key funding programs. Findings reveal that access to climate finance is systematically shaped by capacity deficits at three interconnected levels: institutional barriers, including complex application processes and fragmented governance; individual barriers, including limited grant-writing expertise and insufficient technical staff; and environmental barriers, including environmental racism, colonial legacies, and regional fiscal dependency. Smaller municipalities, grassroots organizations, and historically marginalized communities, including racialized and Indigenous communities, face compounding disadvantages across all three levels. The study contributes an integrated, intersectional, and capacity-focused analysis of public and philanthropic climate finance at the subnational scale, concluding that equitable climate finance demands participatory, justice-oriented approaches that center those most vulnerable to climate impacts.