Perhaps the biggest news out of this year’s global climate conference, which is finishing up in Brazil, is not a new paper promise among governments on reducing carbon emissions. Rather, it is a new survey by the ClimateWorks Foundation that highlights generosity at the heart of climate action.
Private donations to help people adapt to climate change more than doubled from 2021 to 2024, hitting a record $870 million, according to the survey. Meanwhile, the number of foundations making adaptation-related grants jumped by more than 50%.
During the two-week conference itself, more than 35 philanthropic institutions agreed to spend $300 million over three years on one narrow but necessary form of adaptation: meeting the health needs of those most vulnerable to droughts, floods, storms, or heat waves. And the Gates Foundation announced a $1.4 billion project to expand access to innovations that help farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The actual amount of all this new giving – which donors admit is far less than what is needed – is not really the focus. Instead, private donors are essential because they are more risk tolerant and creative in putting money into showcase climate projects than risk-averse leaders in business and government.
“In a time of accelerating climate impacts, shrinking civic space, and fragile global cooperation, philanthropy’s voice and support matter more than ever,” wrote Nancy Lindborg, head of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Ms. Lindborg also states that there is no conflict between focusing on curbing emissions and helping communities adapt. “We have found urgent and effective climate solutions that do both – they lower carbon while improving daily life and meeting the needs of local communities – whether that means access to clean, affordable energy, better livelihoods, or greater resilience in the face of ever more severe weather.”
Adaptation goals were first established at the 21st U.N. Climate Change Conference a decade ago in Paris. That same meeting also produced a global agreement to “limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Since then, many of the world’s biggest private donors have been organizing around climate action.
“People want to give money to help solve this problem but don’t know what to do, so they’re faced with decision paralysis,” stated Dan Stein, executive director of Giving Green, an organization that helps individuals, businesses, and philanthropies make effective donations to combat climate change.
“In our mind, there was the need for an actionable resource for people looking to solve this problem,” he told TriplePundit, which reports on sustainability in business. Private giving and public spending, he added, can complement each other.
