President-elect Donald Trump is proposing fossil fuel champions for U.S. leadership roles. New research shows the world is off the mark for hitting carbon emissions targets, underscoring the urgent need to address climate change through impact investing.

These headlines could make climate advocates want to curl up and check out.

Mike Rea wants to help people do better.

The Seattle entrepreneur is launching ClimeOn to support individuals and families in addressing climate change through impact investing and philanthropic giving. The startup will offer virtual and in-person workshops and activities explaining the climate challenges and the most immediately beneficial solutions. It will also provide emotional and psychological support to guide people through climate anxiety.

“If you care about climate, get smart,” Rea said. “Focus on stuff that really matters.”

While there’s a general consensus that Trump’s re-election will result in wide-ranging setbacks for climate policy and U.S. leadership, it could also stoke giving in the sector.

Rea has spent most of his career helping people channel their resources to important causes, such as addressing climate change through impact investing. He was most recently the executive director of E8, a Seattle-area climate investing angel group that also has a philanthropic fund called Decarbon8. Rea’s other past roles include working as a senior program manager for the Gates Foundation and as CEO of Tourism Cares, a nonprofit supporting “travel for good.”

Addressing Climate Change Through Impact Investing

“People have no idea that you can use philanthropic capital to invest in any of these startups as long as they’re mission, impact-driven,” Rea said, adding that this can be a lower-risk alternative to traditional investing.

ClimeOn is finishing its research-and-development phase and plans to start offering workshops early next year to address climate change through impact investing. Rea is eager to get cash flowing to efforts that are quick-acting, “climate emergency brakes” called out by an effort called Project Drawdown such as preventing deforestation and curbing emissions of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

The startup is also seeking funds to back its own effort. Rea is pursuing a philanthropic, recoverable grant raise in which donors stand to make a small return on their contribution to addressing climate change through impact investing.

Read the full article about impact investing for climate action by Lisa Stiffler at GeekWire.