While philanthropic funding for climate change mitigation increased in 2020, as a percentage of total giving it remained below 2 percent and is not nearly sufficient to meet the urgency of the crisis, a report from ClimateWorks Foundation finds.

Based on 2015-20 data collected by ClimateWorks and other organizations, the report, Funding trends 2021: Climate change mitigation philanthropy (14 pages, PDF), estimates that out of approximately $750 billion in total philanthropic giving by individuals and foundations in 2020, between $6 billion and $10 billion was dedicated to climate change mitigation. While funding for climate change mitigation grew 14 percent on a year-over-year basis, significantly outpacing the 3 percent increase in overall giving, its share of total philanthropic dollars was just 1.3 percent.

Among large foundations with climate-focused programs, funding for climate change mitigation has been growing steadily, from nearly $900 million in 2015 to at least $1.9 billion in 2020. The report's authors note that 2020 saw the emergence of new major donors and a growing focus on racial equity and justice, including climate justice. The Bezos Earth Fund was launched in February with a $10 billion pledge, awarded $791 million in grants in 2020, and has committed $285 million so far in 2021. In December, twenty-nine funders who had pledged at the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit to collectively dedicate $4 billion over five years to climate solutions were joined by ten others and raised the pledge to $6 billion by 2025. According to the report, those thirty-nine philanthropies already have committed $8.2 billion through 2025.

Read the full article about climate change funding at Philanthropy News Digest.