The stakes are higher than ever in European environmental conservation. In May last year, Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association), a network of philanthropic funders and infrastructure organizations in Europe, put the spotlight on the critical role of financial support in this vital area with the report, ‘’Environmental Funding by European Foundations: Vol. 6.’’ The report offers an illuminating analysis into the financial currents shaping Europe’s environmental initiatives.

The European Environmental Funders Group[1] (EEFG) mapping done by the report is a unique exercise in Europe, where it empowers the European philanthropic sector by supporting informed decisions and evidence-based grantmaking strategies. This in turn helps ensure that resources are channelled effectively towards addressing pressing environmental challenges, and thus maximizing their impact. This short analysis explores the report’s key findings, providing an examination of the trends, triumphs, and trials defining environmental funding.

The Growth of Environmental Grantmaking

One of the central questions addressed by this research is whether overall funding for environmental causes in Europe is on the rise. The data clearly shows that it is indeed growing, albeit from a relatively low base. In 2021, 126 foundations allocated 8,518 grants, totalling a remarkable 1.6 billion Euros for environmental work. This figure represents more than double the value of grants analysed in the previous edition of the research and reflects a greater trend of increased funding towards environmental issues as well as, to a lesser extent, an increase in the quantity of foundations providing this funding.

However, it is essential to put this growth in perspective. Environmental grantmaking still constitutes only a tiny fraction (5 percent) of European foundation giving. Moreover, while climate change mitigation funding has more than tripled globally since 2015, climate funding represents a mere 2 percent of global philanthropy. This raises concerns about the sufficiency of funding to address the pressing environmental challenges we face.

Climate Funding: Collaboration Across Issues

The research also underscores a considerable level of sophistication in climate funding, with a number of collaborative platforms that are working on different aspects of climate mitigation. More than 700 foundations are signatories of one of the philanthropy commitments on climate change, indicating a highly focused perception of climate issues in individual areas. Approaching the climate crisis in a unified way is essential in tackling such a colossal issue and is something that philanthropy can really excel in.

Read the full article about environmental funding in Europe by Sevda Kilicalp and Giulia Lombardi at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.