User:Cassiville/ClimateWorks Foundation

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ClimateWorks Foundation is a global nonprofit organization with headquarters in San Francisco and staff based in the United States, Southeast Asia, and China. ClimateWorks' mission is to "end the climate crisis by amplifying the power of philanthropy."

As of 2024, ClimateWorks has granted over $1.8 billion dollars to more than 850 grantees in over 50 countries since 2008. The foundation also provides open-access research to equip donors, institutions, policymakers, and businesses with the latest climate data. ClimateWorks releases an annual report on trends in climate change mitigation philanthropy.

As "climate philanthropy's largest intermediary," ClimateWorks funds and collaborates with organizations to develop and accelerate climate solutions that cut down on global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2016 the nonprofit was listed as one of the Top 100 Largest U.S. Charities by Forbes Magazine.

Strategy
ClimateWorks Foundation was established in 2008 with funding from the Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the Oak Foundation.

The Hewlett Foundation also financed “Design to Win”, a report published in 2007 that helped conceptualize ClimateWorks and examine how philanthropists can fight against global warming. Design to Win's vision focused on building climate solutions for five economic sectors: power, industry, buildings, transport, and forests. The plan was meant to address emissions of the world's six heaviest carbon dioxide emitting regions at the time, which were the United States, China, India, Europe, and Latin America.

ClimateWorks has made thousands of global grants to build capacity and support climate research, policy advocacy, and public engagement with a network of foundation partners. As of 2024, ClimateWorks has granted over $1.8 billion dollars to more than 850 grantees in over 50 countries since 2008.

As of 2020, the foundation’s new strategic plan focused on amplifying the power of philanthropy as a way to solve the climate crisis. The foundation is now branded as “a global platform for philanthropy to innovate and accelerate climate solutions that scale.”

In 2020, the foundation made a series of public commitments to embed justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in its work.

Leadership
Hal Harvey left ClimateWorks in December 2011 and now serves as the CEO of Energy Innovation. In the early 2000s, Harvey also took part in establishing Energy Foundation China, the European Climate Foundation, and the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation. The foundation's list of past chief executive officers includes Julie Blunden, currently the CEO of energy storage company Plus Power; Charlotte Pera, Vice President and Deputy CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund; and acting CEO Chris DeCardy, President of the Heinz Endowments.

Current President and CEO Helen Mountford joined ClimateWorks in January 2022. Mountford comes from a background of development economics and climate policy at the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

ClimateWorks’ Vice President of Global Intelligence Surabi Menon served as the Executive Director of Partnerships for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Menon also co-authored the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

Efforts
ClimateWorks supports climate solutions, policy, and research in the program areas of carbon dioxide removal; cooling through the Clean Cooling Collaborative initiative; food and agriculture; forests and land use led by the Climate and Land Use Alliance; industry; power; sustainable finance; and transportation including the Drive Electric Campaign.

Examples of program-specific efforts include:


 * The Global Cooling Pledge is the world’s first collective focus on cooling emissions and was signed by 63 countries at a United Nations climate summit, and the Clean Cooling Collaborative supported this work.
 * The Drive Electric Campaign, a network of more than 100 organizations around the world that has helped accelerate EV adoption by building technical capacity and received $100 million dollars from the IKEA Foundation to continue work in emerging economies.
 * The Climate and Land Use Alliance supports efforts to implement the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Forest Tenure Pledge announced at COP26.

Besides programmatic areas, ClimateWorks provides research and tracks climate-related grant-making for its larger network. For example, the 2023 Funding Trends Report shows that philanthropic funding to slow climate change was stagnant from 2021 and 2022, with foundations and individuals giving an estimated $7.8 billion to $12.8 billion dollars in 2022.

The foundation hosts national and global climate discussions, such as an event on "accelerating global climate action" at Climate Week NYC and events at the COP28 conference.

Partnerships and donors
The ClimateWorks Foundation receives funding from global organizations such as the Oak Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and then provides grants to a wide network of grantees to advance climate solutions globally.

One example is a $20 million dollar initiative with the IKEA Foundation related to a just transition, announced in September 2023. The initiative plans to support workers facing the closure of coal mines by financing pilot projects, alternative industries like renewables, and local civil society groups working on a clean energy transition.

The foundation collaborates with regional partners that include the African Climate Foundation, Climate and Land Use Alliance, Energy Foundation China, U.S. Energy Foundation, European Climate Foundation, Iniciativa Climatica de Mexico, Instituto Clima e Sociedade in Brazil, and ViriyaENB in Indonesia.

ClimateWorks publishes a yearly report on funding trends with insights into climate giving and spending. In 2022, total philanthropic giving for climate change mitigation received an estimated $7.8 billion to $12.8 billion. By these numbers, climate funding remains about 2% of the total global giving for climate change mitigation.