Rising temperatures, melting glaciers and extreme weather conditions—climate change is undoubtedly the biggest existential crisis facing our planet today. A recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report suggests that the world needs to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Recently in Singapore, Eileen Rockefeller Growald, great-granddaughter of oil magnate John D Rockefeller, who was the first American billionaire, says, “Climate change is the greatest threat to our planet. Our survival is at risk and without it, supporting other issues is futile.” The daughter of banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller and his wife, Peggy, shares, “Humans are part of something much larger in the natural world. We have an obligation to care for the earth because it is the foundation of life for all.”

With the belief that philanthropy plays an important role in de-risking the market for investing in environmental protection, Rockefeller Growald, together with her entrepreneur husband, Paul Growald, founded the Growald Family Fund more than a decade ago to help reduce the effects of climate change. The fund focuses its grantmaking on the global energy transition. Growald explains, “When we talk about decarbonising the global economy, there are already technologies out there to address this, and more will emerge over time. We are convinced that there are opportunities on both the business and philanthropic fronts, but it would depend on financial institutions and individuals making investments in these areas.”

The Growald Family Fund evaluates potential and existing grantees based on a venture philanthropy model that looks at factors such as innovative approaches with high-impact potential, measurable results and scalability. “In the same way investors look at early-stage companies that have the potential to grow in profits, we look at organisations that have the potential to grow philanthropically with high impact.

Read the full article about venture philanthropy and climate change by Hashirin Nurin Hashimi at Thailand Tatler.